The International Olympic Committee typically held host city elections during scheduled sessions on odd years, but the 144th IOC Session now underway until Friday is far from typical. Staged for the first time near Ancient Olympia in Greece, the Session won’t feature a bid election – but IOC Members’ votes Thursday could impact the hosting landscape for the foreseeable future.
Highlighting the agenda for the annual meeting is the election of the organization’s new president who will replace Thomas Bach – a 71-year-old German lawyer who’s term will expire in June. Bach, who was elected for an eight-year term in 2013 and reelected for a charter-limiting final four-year term in 2019 guided his organization according to his own Agenda 2020 mandate.
At the opening of the Session Tuesday, Bach reminded us that “Greece is the birthplace of democracy. In ancient Athens, democratic principles were first put into practise. They continue to shape our modern society to this very day.”
But during his two terms, Bach pushed reforms in his Agenda that were designed to limit democracy within the IOC. That was especially true regarding the site selection process where most of the power was removed from the 100-or-so members and instead trusted to the Executive Board where the decisions were made behind closed doors. Since its implementation in 2019, the new bid process has allowed the Executive Board to name its choice of host, and the Session could merely approve or disapprove. Brisbane 2032, French Alps 2030 and Salt Lake City 2034 each received rubberstamp approval under the new process.
The new bid rules have frustrated regions hoping to engage in a competitive process and have alienated some members who feel they no longer have a say.
But a correction – or perhaps a complete reversal to the old ways of an all out battle royale style bid process – could be on its way depending on the outcome of the election of the next IOC president set for Thursday. Seven candidates will compete for the position of the most powerful executive in sports. There doesn’t seem to be a clear frontrunner, and IOC presidential races tend to be unpredictable due to secret balloting.
The voting will take place at the end of the second day of the Session on Thursday, expected at about 16:00 local Central European Time. It can be watched live on the IOC’s website. Secret electronic balloting will be conducted among the members until one candidate receives a simple majority. If no candidate wins the ballot, the member with the least votes will be dropped for a subsequent ballot until the majority is received and a winner declared.
Each candidate has their own take on the future of bids:
Prince Feisal Al Hussein
Prince Feisal, 61, is the president of the Jordanian Olympic Committee and has been an IOC member since 2010. He supports giving members increased involvement in the site selection bid process.
Prince Feisal would also encourage new regions to host the Games, and he says a review of climate change and the sporting calendar is necessary to be able to accommodate those regions where a Summer Games in July and August may not be feasible due to the heat. That directive focuses on the Arab World where Saudi Arabia and Qatar are now eying the 2036 Olympic Games but would not be able comfortably stage the event in the required months.
David Lappartient
Lappartient, 51, a French national has been an IOC member since 2022 and the President of the International Cycling Union since 2017. Lappartient held a leadership role in the creation of the Olympic esports Games which will be held for the first time in Saudi Arabia in 2027.
In his manifesto, Lappartient pointed to his leadership role in forming a winning bid to host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games in the French Alps in “record time”.
While recognizing the increasing number of candidates to host future Games, he wants to avoid larger Games models so that more regions have access to staging the event in the future. He believes this to be particularly important for the Winter Games amid global warming. Lappartient wants hosts to be balanced across the continents and hopes to see an African Games in the future.
Johan Eliasch
Eliasch, 63, became an IOC Member in 2024 as the President of the International Ski Federation since 2021. He is a businessman, politician and environmentalist with British and Swedish ties.
As the newest IOC member in the race, Eliasch is seen as an outsider. He has little to say about the bid process other than his expectation that “we must be brave in exploring new territories in which to host future editions, seeking to break down preconceptions about where we can and cannot go to – and in turn, breaking down barriers across the global south.”
Juan Antonio Samaranch
Samaranch, 65 became an IOC member in 2001 and is the son of Juan Antonio Samaranch who was president of the IOC from 1980-2001. The Spaniard is currently vice president of the IOC.
Samaranch would like to see the bid process return to the open competitive style that his father encouraged. He sees a place for the current Future Host Commissions to help develop fledgling bids for candidacies but believes all suitable candidates should be on the final ballot for voting at the Session. He also believes the Summer Games calendar should be flexible to accommodate all regions, especially amid climate change.
Samaranch will be a factor in the race due to his deep ties to the organization.
Kirsty Coventry
Coventry, 41 from Zimbabwe, is the youngest person and only female in this race. She is a multi-decorated Olympic swim champion and a member of the IOC Executive Board after rising in the organization as chair of the Athletes’ Commission.
Coventry is said to be unofficially endorsed by president Bach and would likely build upon his ideals of Agenda 2020. That might include keeping the bid process much like it is now.
In that regard, she has said little about the bid process in her campaigning.
Sebastion Coe
Coe, 68, has been an IOC member since 2020 due to his role as president of World Athletics. From Britain, Coe has been involved in politics and was the chair of both the London 2012 Olympic bid and the London 2012 organizing committee.
Often an outspoken opponent of president Bach, Coe wants to see a full reversal of the recent bid reforms.
“We need to maintain a proper process of evaluation, and that is absolutely essential, but we need the membership to have more say in the ultimate decision, rather than just be given one recommendation,” he recently told Kyodo News.
“I can understand the need to maintain order in a campaign, but we need to make sure the members are broadly empowered to have greater input into that process.”
Coe believes that a restrictive process is detrimental to the IOC as it sacrifices a great marketing moment. He says active, open bidding helps promote the Olympic Movement in candidate regions and he hopes to bring that back.
Coe has been named one of the frontrunners in the campaign, but his success might be determined by Bach loyalists. A majority of current IOC members were elected during the president’s two terms.
Morinari Watanabe
Watanabe, 66 from Japan, became an IOC member in 2018 as president of the International Gymnastics Federation. He has been a member of the LA 2028 coordination commission and chair of the IOC’s Boxing Task Force.
Watanabe has proposed radical changes to the Olympic Games concept that would eliminate the bid process and host regions altogether.
He wants to stage the Summer Games in five cities on five continents simultaneously, almost doubling the program to 50 sports and streaming the events live 24 hours a day. The IOC and international federations would choose cities that would be most suitable to stage their collection of events – those with existing facilities and the best conditions for athletes. A similar model could be implemented for the Winter Games.
Watanabe is considered an outsider in the race.
