What does the International Olympic Committee mean?

International Olympic Committee

In Lausanne, Switzerland, surrounded by mountains and lakes, the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee is located in a three-story building in this beautiful city. The trees surrounding the building and the blooming flowers complement the white bricks and red tiles of the building, making this simple and elegant building look magnificent and exuding a strong youthful atmosphere.

International Olympic Committee, referred to as the International Olympic Committee. After its establishment in 1894, it was headquartered in Paris. The First World War broke out in 1914. In order to avoid the destruction of the war, the headquarters moved to Lausanne, known as the "International City of Culture" on April 10, 1915. There is the Olympic Museum, the Olympic Research Center, a street named after Coubertin, a stadium, etc. For decades, Lausanne has made significant contributions to the development of the Olympic movement. No wonder some people call Lausanne the "Olympic City". The International Olympic Committee also gradually developed and grew in this wonderful city and became world-famous.

The International Olympic Committee is the leading organization of the Olympic Movement. It is a non-profit legal entity with legal status and permanent inheritance rights. According to the ideals of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, the purpose of restoring the Olympic movement is to enhance friendship and unity among athletes from various countries, promote world peace and mutual understanding among people of various countries, and develop world sports. The Olympic Charter clearly stipulates that the purpose of the International Olympic Committee is to: encourage the organization and development of sports and organize competitions; under the guidance of the Olympic ideal, encourage and lead sports, thereby promoting and strengthening friendship among athletes from various countries;

The International Olympic Committee, which has a history of nearly a century, has made active efforts and significant contributions to this end.

The International Olympic Committee is a committee system. When the International Olympic Committee was first established in 1894, most of the members were appointed by Coubertin. After that, the International Olympic Committee selected people it considered qualified as members. But for a while, the International Olympic Committee selected members as long as it believed that someone was a celebrity in the sports world of that country or region, regardless of whether the country or region had a relationship with the International Olympic Committee or whether it was a member of the International Olympic Committee. Selected. The Olympic Charter now stipulates that elected members must be citizens of a country or region recognized by the International Olympic Committee, a country or region affiliated with the Olympic Committee, and reside in that country or region.

The organization structure of the International Olympic Committee is divided into the International Olympic Committee Plenary Session, the Executive Committee and the Chairman.

(1) The International Olympic Committee Plenary Session, referred to as the Plenary Session, is a meeting regularly attended by all members of the International Olympic Committee and is held at least once a year. The plenary session has the power to adopt, amend and interpret the Olympic Charter, elect members, executive members and presidents of the International Olympic Committee, decide on the host city for the Olympic Games and other major issues. Her decision is final and she is therefore the highest authority of the IOC.

(2) The Executive Committee handles all daily affairs to ensure the strict implementation of the Olympic charter and plans. The Executive Committee consists of 1 chairman, 4 vice-chairmen and 6 executive committee members, and is elected by a secret vote at the plenary session. In the Executive Committee, the chairman serves a term of 8 years and can be re-elected for 4 years, and the vice-chairman and executive committee members serve a 4-year term.

(3) The President of the International Olympic Committee is elected from the members by secret ballot at the International Olympic Committee Plenary Session held in the second year of the Olympic cycle. The term of office is 8 years and can be re-elected for 4 years. He presides over all activities of the International Olympic Committee

The official languages ??of the International Olympic Committee are French and English, therefore, elected members must speak French or English. Generally, there can only be one member from a country or region. However, the International Olympic Committee believes that countries that actively carry out the Olympic movement and have hosted the Olympic Games can have two members. Not every national or regional Olympic committee has an IOC member.

At present, the International Olympic Committee has 167 members, and there are only a few countries or regions with IOC members. When the International Olympic Committee was first established in 1894, there were 14 members. By 1986, there were 91 members. They were representatives of the Olympic Committees from 73 countries or regions, rather than representatives from each country or region sent to the International Olympic Committee. . The country or region where it is located has no right to remove these committee members or interfere in the election of committee members. In the past, members' terms were lifelong. Since 1965, elected members must apply for retirement when they reach 72 years old. For a long time, all members of the International Olympic Committee were men. It was not until 1981 that the first batch of female members were co-opted.

Charter

The Olympic Charter, also known as the Olympic Charter or Rules, is the general charter formulated by the International Olympic Committee for the development of the Olympic Movement. The initiator and formulator of the first charter was Coubertin. It was officially adopted at the International Sports Conference in Paris in June 1894. The main content is the basic purposes and principles of the Olympic Movement, as well as matters related to holding the Olympic Games. Over the decades, it has been revised and supplemented many times, but the basic principles and spirit formulated by Coubertin have not changed.

Motto

The Olympic motto, also known as the Olympic motto or slogan, is one of the purposes of the Olympic movement. The motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" (Citius, Altius, Fortius) was proposed by Henri Martin Didon, a close friend of Coubertin, in 1895. He engraved this sentence on the lintel of the school he founded. Coubertin was quite impressed by this. After his proposal, it was officially approved by the International Olympic Committee in 1913 and became the Olympic motto. In 1920 it became part of the Olympic logo. In addition, some people use "Sports is peace" and "The important thing is participation, not victory" as their mottos.

Flag

The International Olympic Committee has its own flag. The flag is white and borderless, with five interconnected rings in the center, which we call the Olympic rings. The colors of the ring from left to right are blue, yellow, black, green, and red (it can also be drawn in a single color). Coubertin selected them because they can summarize the colors of the national flags of each member state, but he later changed the five colors. There are other explanations. The "Olympic Review" (Issue 40) published by the International Olympic Committee in 1979 emphasized that the meaning of the flag and the five rings is to symbolize the unity of the five continents. Athletes from all over the world compete in a fair, frank and friendly spirit. , meet at the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee flag was designed and produced in 1913 based on Coubertin's idea.

In 1914, it was raised for the first time at the Olympic Congress in Paris to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the restoration of the modern Olympic movement. During the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, the Belgian National Olympic Committee embroidered the same pennant for use at the Olympic Games. After the Games, Belgium donated it to the International Olympic Committee and became the official flag of the International Olympic Committee. There has been a flag handover ceremony at the opening ceremony of all previous Olympic Games. The representative of the host city of the previous Olympic Games will hand the flag to the President of the International Olympic Committee, who will then hand the flag to the mayor of the current host city. The flag is then kept at the city hall for four years before being sent to the next host city. The flag that was hoisted over the main venue of the Games during the current Olympic Games was a substitute.

According to the Olympic Charter, the "Olympic rings" are the symbol of the Olympic movement and the exclusive logo of the International Olympic Committee. No group or individual may use them for advertising without the permission of the International Olympic Committee. or other commercial activities.