LAUSANNE: International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach awarded its annual Olympic Cup award to the ‘World Union of Olympic Cities’, an institution created by Greek capital city Athens and Switzerland’s Lausanne to ensure and promote sustainable legacies of the Olympic Games by facilitating an ongoing dialogue between former and future host cities of the Olympic Games. Currently, 40 cities are members of the Union.
The award ceremony took place during the fifth edition of the Smart Cities and Sport Summit, an initiative of the Union, currently taking place in Lausanne itself.
“The World Union keeps the Olympic flame alive across the globe by bringing together past and future Olympic host cities,” Bach said as he presented the award to the World Union of Olympic Cities President and Mayor of Lausanne, Grégoire Junod.
“In doing so, you are playing an essential role in ensuring the enduring legacy of the Olympic Games. You provide inspiring ideas and practical tools, and facilitate a permanent dialogue that supports all Olympic cities in preserving and promoting their unique legacy.”
“I could not be more proud of receiving the Olympic Cup in the name of the World Union of Olympic Cities […],” said Junod.
“Our goal is to support Olympic cities in the long-term management of Iegacy so that the Olympic Games can have a positive impact from a long-term perspective. But our goal is also to promote the Olympic values and the use of sports as a tool for city development […].
“Thank you very much, Mr President, for this important mark of recognition and confidence in our work. We are very glad to be part of Olympic Agenda 2020 of the IOC and to contribute to the development of the Olympic Movement.”
During his address, Bach highlighted the enhanced relevance of the World Union in the context of Olympic Agenda 2020 – the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, which aims to make the hosting of the Tokyo Games cheaper, easier and more sustainable.
“With Olympic Agenda 2020, we have turned the page and are writing a new chapter in the way future Olympic Games are organized.
“Thanks to our reforms, there is now a completely new approach from the candidature for and the delivery of the Games through to their legacy. The greater emphasis on incorporating legacy planning from the earliest stages of preparations for the Olympic Games translates into even greater importance to the work you are doing.
“On the basis of your important work on legacy, we are looking for an even deeper cooperation with the World Union. Olympic Agenda 2020 opens up many new possibilities for such deepened cooperation.” Bach added.
The Olympic Cup is awarded annually by the IOC to an institution or association in recognition of its work to actively develop the Olympic Movement. It was created by the founder of the modern Olympic Movement, Pierre de Coubertin in 1906.
