Dear Colleagues,
Dear Friends,
We have reached the end of a hugely significant month for the future of the Olympic Movement, following the 144th IOC Session in my native country.
It was a great honour for Greece to host the election of the 10th IOC President, and I would like to once again offer my sincere congratulations to the President-elect Kirsty Coventry.
This is a landmark moment for the IOC, as it elects its first female president, a sign of the significant progress that has been made in this regard. Of course, the EOC is proud to play a leading role in promoting gender equality within the Olympic Movement, with seven female members on our current Executive Committee.
I am confident that President-elect Coventry will use her experience in various roles within the IOC and in Zimbabwe to help take the Olympic Movement to new heights, and the EOC looks forward to working closely with her.
On a personal note, it was an honour and privilege to be elected as an IOC Executive Board member in Costa Navarino, where I will represent not only the EOC, but all NOCs worldwide.
I will be joined on the EB by former Romanian NOC President Octavian Morariu, while former Belgian NOC President Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant was elected as an IOC Vice-President. This means that eight of the 14 IOC EB members are European, including EOC Executive Committee (ExCom) member Emma Terho, highlighting the strength of the European Olympic Movement.
At the EOC, our newly formed ExCom held its first informal virtual meeting on 6 March, following the elections at the 54th General Assembly held on 28 February in Frankfurt. This was an important opportunity to extend a warm welcome to the new members ahead of our first official meeting scheduled for 12 May in Rome. With representatives from across the continent, the newly formed ExCom is a strong team that embodies the unity, talent and ambition of Europe. It reflects the depth of expertise and commitment within our NOCs and stands as a testament to the EOC’s ongoing strength and influence in global sport. I am confident that this new team will sustain and elevate Europe’s role at the forefront of the Olympic Movement.
The ExCom’s term will of course cover the European Games Istanbul 2027 and we continue to work hard to finalise the sports programme, understanding that confirming the sports as early as possible will benefit all our stakeholders.
In April, I am looking forward to attending the EU Sport Forum in Kraków, which will highlight our standing in European sport and offer an opportunity to draw attention to the work that we continue to do.
Thank you for your continued support of the EOC’s activities.
With EurOlympic regards,
President Spyros Capralos
