European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos delivered a keynote address on the first day of the European Olympic Academies (EOA) Congress in Olympia, Greece.
This year’s EOA Congress is taking place in the birthplace of the Olympic Games, with experts from academia and sporting organisations along with representatives from 26 National Olympic Academies gathering to discuss how the Olympic Movement can respond to challenges and seize opportunities following the huge success of Paris 2024.
President Capralos was the first speaker at the EOA Congress, with the first session dedicated to the “Olympic programme between tradition and change”.
Outlining how the Olympic Movement is honouring tradition and the Olympic values while embracing change, he welcomed delegates to Olympia and highlighted the current developments and perspectives in the Olympic Movement.
President Capralos said: “As a proud Greek and the proud President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, I never take for granted the opportunity to travel to Olympia.
“It is the home of the ancient Olympics, and a chance to be reminded of the history that we must protect and ensure we honour. It is a fitting place to discuss the opportunities the Olympic Movement has, but also the challenges that we face in the modern world.
“Over the next four days, you will discuss the differing perspectives of the Olympic Movement following the success of Paris 2024. You will focus on that fine line between tradition and change, between the ancient and the modern, that Paris succeeded in navigating last month.”
President Capralos highlighted Paris 2024’s status as the Games of a new era having been delivered in line with Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which included the usage of existing and temporary venues as deployed at the Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games.
He emphasised the importance of the Olympic Movement and the global sports world engaging younger generations, including through the increasing importance of social media.
Highlighting some of the successful innovations at the 3rd European Games in Kraków-Małopolska, President Capralos discussed the clippings feature which allowed athletes to directly download and share video footage from their competitions via the official app, and the inaugural European Esports Championships.
President Capralos stressed the opportunities provided by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic AI Agenda, and summarised with a call to embrace change while honouring the Olympic values.
“The changes that are happening before our eyes will help take us to the next level,” he said.
“We must never forget the values the Olympic Movement is built on and ensure we are distilling them to those we serve.
“But if we are to continue to thrive, we must continue to embrace the innovations in front of us and we should not be afraid to create innovations of our own.”
The EOC played an instrumental role in the foundation of the EOA in 2018, and through a Memorandum of Understanding continues to serve as one of its most important partners.
The 6th EOA Congress runs until Friday 27 September, including a session on the legacy and message of Paris 2024 and several interactive discussions and workshops.
