The 13th Olympic Summit was held in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday as participants discussed a series of topics related to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, including the economic outlook for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the anti-doping work of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA).
The IOC released the communique of the Summit, which has 30 items under various topics including the achievements of Paris 2024, the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, and the Olympic Esports Games.
Chaired by outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach, the Olympic Summit forms part of the ongoing dialogue and consultation on subjects of significance for the future of the Olympic Movement.
Economic Outlook
1. The Summit noted the very positive financial outlook for the IOC and thus for the entire Olympic Movement. The revenues for the 2021-24 period will be $7.6 billion. Of this, the IOC is on track to distribute $6.8bn, which corresponds to $4.7 million per day to the Olympic Movement. This is an increase of 12% compared to the previous quadrennial period and a 45% increase since 2013.
2. The prospects for the 2025-28 period are for further growth of these revenues. This is based on: the fact that $7.3bn has already been secured for this new quadrennial period; the forthcoming agreements on still-to-be-concluded media rights in some regions; the renewed interest in the TOP programme; and the new revenue generation opportunities opened up by the Olympic AI Agenda and the Olympic Esports Games.
$6.2bn in revenue has even already been secured for the 2029-32 period. This brings the already secured revenues of the IOC to $13.5bn.
3. The participants welcomed this as evidence that the Olympic brand is stronger than ever.
Olympic Games Paris 2024
4. Overall, 85% of spectators rated their experience as “excellent” or “good” for the ticketed events, with 95% doing so for the free events.
5. All participants noted that the Olympic Games Paris 2024 were the first edition of the Games to be organised and held under the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms. As a result, the Games were more youthful, more urban, more inclusive and more sustainable.
6. The participants highlighted that the Olympic Games Paris 2024 were the first Olympic Games in history with full gender parity on the field of play, thanks to the distribution of an equal number of quota places to female and male athletes by the IOC. This key achievement was made possible due to a large number of initiatives led by the IOC and delivered in partnership with the Olympic Summer International Federations (IFs), and other stakeholders, such as the NOCs and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee.
7. The participants also welcomed the huge success of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The IOC Refugee Olympic Team, made up of a record number of 37 athletes, hosted by 15 NOCs and competing across 12 Olympic sports, demonstrated to the world that refugees are an enrichment to society. The participants took note, with great satisfaction, that the team won its first Olympic medal.
8. All participants welcomed the research showing record audiences for the Games. 84% of the total potential global audience, which is equal to around 5 billion people, followed the Olympic Games Paris 2024, according to independent research.
Digital platforms drove an unprecedented level of attention. There were an estimated 412bn engagements from 270m posts on social media platforms globally. This represents a four-fold increase compared to the previous edition of the Olympic Games. During the Games, the Olympic athletes, International Federations, NOCs and Organising Committees were able to add 85m extra followers to their main social media handles. The Summit welcomed the fact that the research also found that the “Generation Z” demographic is now engaging more with the Olympic Games than any other segment of the population.
Some 95% of athletes surveyed rated their overall experience positively, with 91% citing “competing at the biggest multi-sport event on earth” and 89% rating “becoming an Olympian” as fundamental motivations for participating at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
9. These were truly Olympic Games of a new era. People were longing for something that gives them hope, brings them joy, makes them proud and brings us all together.
10. The Summit participants heard the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, describe the Paralympic Games as “the most spectacular Paralympic Games ever in terms of sport performance, venues, atmosphere and reach”. These were the first Paralympic Games to fully benefit from the cooperation agreement signed with the IOC in 2018. This “new era of collaboration”, as Parsons called it, allowed for collaboration from the election of the host city to the organisation and staging of the Games.
11. The Summit participants expressed their gratitude to the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, under the leadership of Tony Estanguet, assisted by Étienne Thobois and their entire team.
Milano Cortina 2026
12. With just over one year to go until the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, as the winter season gets underway, test events will be taking place, many of which are in existing facilities that host international competition annually. The next critical milestone will be in March 2025, with the pre-homologation of the new sliding centre in Cortina.
Olympic Esports Games
13. The Summit welcomed the decision to launch Olympic Esports Games and the partnership with the NOC of Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in the Kingdom on a date to be announced shortly. The Olympic Esports Games will feature electronic physical sports, simulation games and traditional esports titles in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5.
14. Participants re-emphasised the need to fully respect the Olympic values for these Games.
15. It was emphasised that IFs already engaged in an e-version of their sport that is considered for inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games will be the IOC’s first “go-to” partners. The same will be true for NOCs that already include esports in their activities.
16. The IOC informed the Summit about the creation of a new dedicated structure within its organisation, clearly separate from the organisational and financial model for the Olympic Games. Such an approach will also be taken with regard to the financing of the Olympic Esports Games.
This new form of organisation will not consist of a traditional organising committee on one side and an IOC coordination commission on the other, but rather a joint committee. This is chaired by IOC Member Ser Miang Ng, with the vice-chair being the president of the Saudi NOC and Saudi Sports Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Saud.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
17. Participants welcomed the successful launch of the Olympic AI Agenda. They underlined the importance of the IOC taking the lead to establish guiding principles, identify high-impact areas for AI application, and explore the framework and governance mechanisms needed to mitigate risk and promote the responsible use of AI.
18. The Summit reiterated the call by the Olympic Movement for the governments of the world, with the leadership of the United Nations, to create robust global AI regulations that protect human dignity and ensure equitable progress in this field.
19. The Summit noted that a coordinated approach across the Olympic Movement is essential to harness AI’s potential while preserving the integrity of sport. The participants acknowledged that the IOC’s leadership in developing comprehensive AI guidelines will help ensure consistent standards and practices across IFs, NOCs and other stakeholders. They recognised that this unified strategy would strengthen the Olympic Movement’s position in navigating technological advancement while upholding the Olympic values.
20. The Summit also highlighted the IOC’s proactive stance in establishing partnerships with leading technology providers and academic institutions to develop AI solutions that address specific needs within the Olympic Movement. This collaborative approach demonstrates the IOC’s commitment to fostering innovation while maintaining careful oversight of AI implementation across all aspects of sport, from competition management to athlete development and fan engagement.
Protection of Athletes
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
21. The Olympic Summit welcomed the update provided by the WADA president. He reported that:
The recommendations adopted by the WADA executive committee following the Cottier Report and the World Aquatics Audit Report will be widely implemented as part of the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standard update process that is currently underway with all stakeholders worldwide.
For the good of all the athletes around the world, it is of vital importance to move forward in collaboration.
The 2027 Code review process will bring increased focus on the accountability of the entourage as per the recommendations of the sports movement.
22. The Summit participants welcomed the continued progress of WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department. President Bańka highlighted the 85 joint operations conducted by European National Anti-Doping Agencies (NADOs) and law enforcement agencies. It was noted that this has so far helped to remove an estimated 450 million doses of potentially dangerous drugs from circulation, and will help reduce the prevalence of doping.
23. The Summit took note with concern of the lack of delivery on funding commitments by certain governments for WADA. The fulfilment of these commitments is in the vital interest of a continued and harmonised global anti-doping effort.
24. The Summit supported the candidacy of Witold Bańka and Yang Yang as WADA president and vice-president, underlining their important achievements over the last six years, including the implementation of the governance reforms and the commitment to the implementation of the recommendations of the Cottier Report.
International Testing Agency (ITA)
25. The Summit welcomed the update from the Chair of the ITA Board on the Olympic Games Paris 2024 pre-Games and Games-time programmes. In particular, the work of the ITA Pre-Games Expert Group, which included the NADOs of China, Germany and the United States of America, and which was supervised by a panel composed of athletes’ representatives, contributed to reducing testing gaps ahead of the Games.
26. The Summit welcomed the ITA’s finding that 90% of the Olympic participants at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 were tested at least once in the six months prior to the event, meaning more than 31,000 tests.
Safe Sport
27. The participants welcomed the setting up of the Safe Sport Regional Hub Initiative by the IOC, with two pilot projects already operating in Southern Africa and the Pacific Islands. Groundwork has also been laid for a European Hub. This new model for athlete safeguarding represents a bottom-up approach, which emphasises the need to address this highly sensitive and highly complex social issue at the local level.
28. Participants also noted the success of the IOC Safeguarding Officer in Sport Certificate, which to date has 393 graduates/students from 99 countries.
29. Innovation by the IOC was also welcomed by the Summit. It was noted that, at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the IOC rolled out the largest ever AI-powered solution to combat online violence towards athletes and officials. During the Paris Games, the online abuse protection service analysed 2.4 million posts and comments from the 20,000 athletes’ and officials’ social media handles, in real time and in over 35 languages, flagging over 152,000 posts and comments as being potentially abusive via AI.
30. The Olympic Summit participants welcomed the Mentally Fit Helpline for Olympians and Paralympians at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, which will remain open for four years and is available 24 hours a day in over 70 languages.
