The General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will meet in India for the first time in 40 years between October 15th and 17th: in the metropolis of Mumbai. In 1983, the capital New Delhi hosted the IOC. India is considered one of the emerging markets for the Olympic movement. The Olympic Games have never taken place on the subcontinent. In addition to the election of new IOC members, new sports in the Olympic program will also be discussed in Mumbai.
What decisions will be made at the IOC Congress in Mumbai?
Originally, the congress in Mumbai was supposed to vote on, among other things, the awarding of the 2030 Winter Olympics. However, the IOC postponed the decision to 2024. The reason for this was a report from the procurement commission, which had formulated expanded specifications and requirements for a possible host of the Winter Games with a view to climate change and sustainability.
The conference agenda on Monday, October 16th includes the election of new IOC members. The IOC executive branch has proposed eight new members, four women and four men. Five of the eight candidates are independent individuals. This also includes the German sports manager Michael Mronz. “The IOC’s vision of creating a better world through sport has been a conviction and guiding principle throughout my personal and professional career for decades,” said the 56-year-old. He would be the third German IOC member alongside President Thomas Bach and Britta Heidemann.
“We will support the candidacy locally so that the German network in international sport is further enhanced and the Olympic movement can rely on an additional ambassador in Germany,” said the President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), Thomas Weikert.
Another important item on the program in Mumbai – also on October 16th – will be the report of the commission that dealt with the Olympic program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Which sports can hope to be included in the Olympic program?
After four failed applications in a row, squash athletes and officials in particular are hoping that their Olympic dream will finally come true in 2028. The World Squash Federation WSF had already tried in vain to be included in the Olympic program before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, 2020 in Tokyo, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2012 in London. In the fifth attempt it should finally work. The sport is worldwide and there is a professional tour for men and women.
For WSF President Zena Wooldridge, there are a few reasons that could speak for a commitment from the IOC. “There are all sorts of innovations you can bring to the sport to make it almost a combination of eSports and physical sports,” Wooldridge said. “We have also worked to make the sport more attractive to spectators, for example by placing the courts in unusual locations such as theaters.”
In addition to squash, eight other sports are applying for the Olympics: karate, kickboxing, lacrosse, baseball/softball, cricket, motorsports, breakdancing and flag football. Breakdancing, officially called breaking, is making its debut at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and therefore has a good chance of being there in 2028 too. The current Olympic sports of boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon, however, are considered to be at risk.
Will Germany apply for the Olympic Games again?
There have not been any Olympic Games in Germany since the Summer Games in Munich in 1972. In the past 20 years alone, four German applications have failed. But now the DOSB would like to start a new attempt. A concept for an application should be developed by the end of 2023. The association is already mobilizing under the motto “your ideas, your games”. The DOSB has chosen Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, Hamburg as potential venues, as well as the Rhine-Ruhr region as potential co-hosts. After the DOSB general meeting in December, a concrete application should be prepared.
Michael Mronz, who led the failed private-sector Rhine and Ruhr Olympic Initiative for 2032, also believes that the 2036 Olympics in Germany are possible. “The 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games could be an opportunity to present a Germany that is cosmopolitan, that is welcoming, that is sustainable,” said the prospective new IOC member.
What do the Olympic critics in Germany say?
The opponents of a potential application are already taking a position: Green politician Christian Hierneis is one of the speakers for the “NOlympia” network. For weeks in 2013, Hierneis opposed the planned hosting of the 2022 Olympic Games in Munich, Garmisch, Ruhpolding and Berchtesgadener Land. With success: In the end, the Olympic bid was overturned by a referendum. Even ten years later, his opinion on hosting the Olympic Games and the IOC has not changed.
“The IOC is a pure money-printing machine that presents itself in a big way and appears big,” Hierneis told DW. “The host city contract alone, which the organizing cities have to sign. That is a gag contract, nothing has changed. All rights must be assigned, the municipalities are liable for all damages.”
According to Hierneis, the situation would not change if Michael Mronz were to join the IOC. “He also has no expertise in sustainability. The sporting events he has organized so far are not at all comparable to the Olympic Games.” If Hierneis and the other Olympic critics had their way, the basic idea of the games and sport would have to be in the foreground again.