Copenhagen Denmark has been chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 13th Olympic Congress and the meetings of the Executive Board in 2009.
The victory came after a 59-40 vote against Cairo in the fifth and final round.
According to the IOC, the 13th Olympic Congress will bring together all the constituent parties of the Olympic Movement to study and discuss the current functioning of the Movement and define the main development axes for the future.
The host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games will also be elected at the 2009 meeting.
Athens, Busan, Riga, Singapore, and Taipei were eliminated in earlier rounds. Mexico City and Lausanne opted out from bidding.
“We are deeply moved that you’ve given us your confidence to host the 2009 session…on behalf of my people, my government, my organization, thank you from the bottom of our hearts” remarked Denmark’s IOC member Kai Holm to the IOC session after the vote.
There were concerns that Muslim outrage over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed printed in a Danish newspaper had put the IOC members in a difficult position to vote for Copenhagen, but Rogge had insisted the vote would have no relation to the International situation. He said, “we are speaking of a sporting session in 2009 and it will not have an impact. If Copenhagen wins it will be from membership that is absolutely universal from 70 countries”.
