The
Olympic Movement encompasses organizations, athletes and other
persons who agree to be guided by the Olympic Charter.
The
Olympic Movement groups together all those who agree to be
guided by the Olympic Charter and who recognize the authority
of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), namely: the International
Federations (IF) of sports on the program of the Olympic Games;
the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Organizing Committees
of the Olympic Games (OCOGs), athletes, judges and referees,
associations and clubs, as well as all the organizations and
institutions recognized by the IOC.
Birth of the Olympic Movement
When
he announced in Paris, on a winter's evening in 1892, the forthcoming
re-establishment of the Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin
was applauded, but nobody at the time imagined the scale of
the project entailed by reviving the ancient Olympic Games,
appointing a committee in charge of organizing them and creating
an international movement.
The
IOC was created on 23 June 1894. The 1st Olympic Games of the
modern era opened in Athens on 6 April 1898 and the Olympic
Movement has not stopped growing ever since.
"All
sports for all people. This is surely a phrase that people
will consider foolishly utopian. That prospect troubles me
not at all. I have pondered and studied it at length, and
know that it is correct and possible", wrote Pierre
de Coubertin in 1919. The future proved him right.
According
to the Olympic Charter, established by Pierre de Coubertin,
the goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building
a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport
practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic
spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of
friendship, solidarity and fair play.
The
IOC guarantees the promotion of Olympism and the smooth running
of the Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
The
Olympic Movement receives most of its funding from the Olympic
Games rights bought by broadcast networks. However, it also
benefits from the Olympic Partners (TOP) world-wide sponsorship
program comprising multinational companies. The IOC distributes
92% of the revenue generated by the marketing of Olympic properties.
The essential missions of the Olympic
Movement
•
Choice of the host city
• Organization of the Olympic Games
• Promotion of women in sport
• Protection of athletes
• Human development assistance
• Protection of the environment
• Respect for the Olympic truce