National Olympic Committees remain concerned about Rio 2016 accommodation shortage
Rio 2016 have urged National Olympic Committees to seek “non-traditional” forms of accommodation during next year’s Olympics and Paralympics, such as rented apartments through their partnership with Airbnb.
Accommodation has become a major issue for many participating NOCs in recent weeks, with it forming a key issue at a Chef de Mission Seminar in the host city last month.
NOC Presidents and secretary generals were due to stay at the Barra Windsor Hotel close to the main Games venue-hub at Barra de Tijuca, but this has now become the official IOC Hotel, meaning NOCs will stay instead close by at the Windsor Oceanico.
This is a four-star rather than a five-star hotel, as the Barra Windsor was, meaning NOCs are due to be reimbursed the difference in price.
But despite this, there is still a shortage of rooms for other members of delegations, including other administrative officials as well as members of coaching and support teams.
This is often the case ahead of a Games, but has become more of a challenge than it was at London 2012 due to the lesser availability of hotels, or knowledge of potential problems.
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Pyeongchang 2018 urged to increase speed of progress by IOC Coordination Commission
Pyeongchang 2018 need to “increase the speed” of progress in its preparations to host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in three years time, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission chair Gunilla Lindberg said here today.
Concerns have been prominent in the build-up to the Games, particularly regarding construction of venues and sponsorship, but these were allayed somewhat when IOC President Thomas Bach hailed the “great progress” Pyeongchang 2018 had made when he visited South Korea in August.
Lindberg, who is also secretary general of the Association of National Olympic Committees, has been critical of preparations in the past but admitted she was “satisfied” following the fourth Coordination Commission meeting in March.
Her comments came after the IOC urged Pyeongchang 2018 to speed up progress in February, setting up a task force to try to help get the Games get back on track and ease fears the event is facing trouble.
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IOC President to deliver speech at UN General Assembly with sport set to be included in Sustainable Development Goals
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach is due to speak at the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in New York on Saturday (September 26), a key-step in his highly-publicised aim of including sport as one of the UN’s goals following the event.
Bach will speak alongside dozens of political leaders from across the world, with Pope Francis another high profile participant on what will mark his first United States tour.
This will follow the adoption of a post-2015 Development Agenda on Friday (September 25), with sport set to be mentioned as “an important enabler of sustainable development”.
Bach will be joined by American ice hockey star and IOC member Angela Ruggiero, and is set to also meet many of the leaders on a bilateral basis in order to confirm the role of sport in society.
Utilising sport will be presented as a key way to achieve important targets related to peace, health and education.
“This is another acknowledgement of the important role of sport in society, one of the major issues of Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement,” said Bach.
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