Worldwide Olympic Partner Toyota Motor Corporation and Bridgestone Corporation have this week become the first Founding Partners of the Olympic Channel – the IOC’s a new digital platform that launches on Sunday 21 August following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

The Founding Partner agreements have a four-year term extending through to the end of 2020.

Bridgestone, the world’s largest tyre and rubber company, became the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel on Monday, having been a Worldwide TOP Partner since 2014.

“Bridgestone has demonstrated its support for the Olympic Movement and belief in the Olympic values through its long-term commitment as a Worldwide TOP Partner, and through this new agreement we look forward to working closely with them to bring the Olympic Channel to fans around the world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.

Toyota signed as a Worldwide TOP Partner in 2015 and the IOC announced company as a Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel on Friday.

“We are delighted that Toyota, our newest Worldwide TOP Partner, will also support the Olympic Channel as a Founding Partner,” said Bach. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership through the Olympic Channel.”

The Founding Partners will support the development of the Olympic Channel to put content into the hands of fans anytime, anywhere, and on any device, according the IOC.

Through the relationship, Toyota will receive exclusive advertising opportunities and will work with the Olympic Channel team to co-develop inspiring and exciting content, the IOC said.

Bridgestone will serve as the presenting partner of the Olympic Channel’s “Against All Odds”, an eight-episode documentary series that demonstrates the very embodiment of the Olympic spirit and follows eight athletes. Each half-hour episode will focus on one athlete, offering a first-person account of a key turning point, and how personal will and determination helped them to overcome adversity and reach their goals. The first episode in the series will premiere on 21 August, when the Olympic Channel launches.

“This is a very exciting time for Bridgestone as our Worldwide Olympic Partnership marks the first truly global marketing platform in our company’s history, and the Olympic Games Rio 2016 – the first ever in South America – are our first as a Worldwide TOP Partner. It is fitting that we also are the first Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel,” said Masaaki Tsuya, CEO and Representative Executive Officer, Bridgestone Corporation.

“The Olympic Movement is universal and we continue to reaffirm Bridgestone’s longstanding support for sport and our belief that the core principles of Olympism – and the world’s greatest athletes – should be celebrated every day of the year.”

As a TOP Partner, Bridgestone is strengthening its commitment to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Channel mission, outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, to reach audiences around the world, beyond the Olympic Games period, 365 days a year.

TOP Partner Toyota will support the organisers of future Olympic Games, the IOC and National Olympic Committees and their Olympic teams around the world. In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, with sustainability as one of its key pillars, Toyota will work with the Organising Committees through to 2024 to provide sustainable mobility solutions for the Games to help with safer, more efficient mobility, including intelligent transport systems, urban traffic systems and vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems.

The partnership will help deliver a mobility legacy in the host cities and countries, the IOC said.

About the Olympic Channel

The Olympic Channel is a digital-first, multiplatform global Olympic media entity, which aims to broadcast the Olympic Movement and its inherent values all year round, especially in the periods between the Olympic Games.  The primary objectives of the Olympic Channel are to provide a platform for the continuous exposure of Olympic sports and athletes beyond the Olympic Games period and to help create anticipation while providing opportunities to "re-live the experience" after the Games; continuously highlight the relevance of the Olympic Movement's ideals to the challenges of today's world; provide a platform for sharing the IOC's very rich patrimonial assets and archives with the world and create additional value and content for the IOC archives; and engage the young generations around the world using methods that are relevant to them, building understanding, entertainment and education. At launch, the Olympic Channel will be a digital platform, with on-demand content available across the web, mobile, tablet and other connected devices where fans can experience the power of sport and Olympism 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Audiences will also be able to access content and engage through a variety of social media platforms as part of the Olympic Channel network. For more info, please visit olympicchannel.com.

The International Olympic Committee has elected to change the composition of its Executive Board, promoting Prof. Uğur Erdener and Juan Antonio Samaranch to Vice Presidents.
Three new Executive Board members have been elected in  Gian Franco Kasper (SUI), Angela Ruggiero (USA) and Ser Miang Ng (SIN).

The new Vice Presidents Uğur Erdener and Juan Antonio Samaranch now replace Sir Craig Reedie CBE and Nawal El Moutawakel who have served their terms, having made immense contributions to Olympism.

Sir Craig Reedie and Uğur Erdener are both set to speak at Host City 2016 alongside several other key figures from the Olympic Movement and the wider event hosting world. 
A Professor of Ophthalmology, Uğur Erdener is the President of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, President of World Archery and Chair of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission.  
“I am honoured to have been elected to the position of IOC Vice President,” said Prof Dr Erdener.

“The principles of Olympism are ever-more relevant in the modern world, and I am committed to supporting the goal of the IOC in building a peaceful and better world through sport.”
Prof Dr Erdener is the second World Archery President to have become an IOC Vice President. Jim Easton served in the role from 2002 to 2006.

Juan Antonio Samaranch is Vice President of the UIPM and Chair of the Board of directors of Olympic Channel Services. His father, of the same name, was IOC President from 1980 to 2001.
The changes to the Executive Board see the departure of René Fasel, Claudia Bokel, Anita Defrantz and Gunilla Lindberg.

Ching-Kuo Wu and Patrick Hickey are resuming their seats as representatives of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) respectively. Also remaining on the Executive Board are Sergey Bubka and Willi Kaltschmitt.

The US ice hockey player Angela Ruggiero replaces outgoing German fencer Claudia Bokel on both the Executive Board and the IOC Athletes’ Commission. She joins the Executive Board at the same time René Fasel, IIHF president, leaves.

“René’s leadership has been inspiring, and I hope I can represent hockey with the same pride now that he is leaving,” she said.

These changes, as well as the election of eight new IOC members, were confirmed at the IOC Executive Board meeting at the outset of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The newly composed Executive Board will begin its work after the Games.
 

At the 129th IOC Session on the eve of the 2016 Olympic Games, eight new members were elected to the International Olympic Committee by its current membership. 
The new members, recommended by the IOC Executive Board on the advice of the IOC Members Election Commission, are highly diverse, representing business, politics and sports administration. 
Nita Ambani, chair of the Reliance Foundation and owner of the Mumbai Indians cricket team, became the first Indian woman IOC member. 
Finland also gained its first woman IOC member in the politician and former race walking champion Sari Essayah.
South African film producer Anant Singh and Colombia's former ambassador to the U.S Luis Moreno were also elected to the IOC. 
Three National Olympic Committee (NOC) leaders were elected, with Austria Olympic committee chief Karl Stoss, Canadian Olympic committee president Tricia Smith and Secretary General of the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee Auvita Rapilla all taking up membership. 
Ivo Ferriani, the Italian president of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation, was the only representative of an International Federation (IF) elected as a new member. Up to 15 NOCs and 15 IFs can be represented within the IOC membership.
The election brings the total membership to 98. IOC members vote on host cities of future Olympic Games and sports to be included in the Games, as well as providing direction for the Olympic Movement. 
As part of the “Agenda 2020” programme of reform of the Olympic Movement initiated by Thomas Bach and approved by IOC members in 2014, the IOC is taking a fresh approach to bringing new members on board, to “move from an application to a targeted recruitment process”.
The IOC Members Election Commission is taking a more proactive role in identifying the right candidates to filling vacancies in order to best fulfil the mission of the IOC.
Under the new procedure, the profile of candidates must now comply with a set of criteria submitted by the Commission to the IOC Executive Board for approval. 
These criteria relate to the IOC’s needs, which it identifies as including: “skills and knowledge (e.g. medical expertise, sociological expertise, cultural expertise, political expertise, business expertise, legal expertise, sports management expertise, etc.); geographic balance, as well as a maximum number of representatives from the same country” and “gender balance”. 
Agenda 2020 also highlights “the existence of an athletes’ commission within the organisation for representatives of IFs/NOCs.”
The IOC Members Election Commission is chaired by Princess Anne of Great Britain, herself an IOC member. According to Reuters, she identified Moreno, Singh and Ambani as “candidates outside the Olympic and sport community who could usher in a fresh approach and new skills to the organisation”.
 

HOST CITY: Pierre De Coubertin said Modern Pentathlon “tested a man’s moral qualities as much as his physical resources and skills”. How does Modern Pentathlon achieve this and why is this still important today?
Dr. Klaus Schormann: Modern Pentathlon first appeared on the Olympic programme in Stockholm in 1912 when De Coubertin’s wish was to devise a test suitable only for the “complete athlete”. In pursuit of this aim he created the ultimate test of an athlete’s fitness, courage and skill – a sporting challenge like no other. Modern Pentathlon combines five traditional disciplines in a one-day format and is unique in sport as a complex mental and physical examination.
Today it remains as important as ever in the Olympic Movement. Pierre de Coubertin’s vision has its roots in the Ancient Games of 708 where Lampis of Sparta was the first winner of Pentathlon and received the prestigious status of “Victor Ludorum”. In this time, Pentathlon consisted of discus, long jump, javelin, stadium run and wrestling. The format has changed beyond recognition but the principle remains the same: it is the complete sporting challenge.

HOST CITY: Competition for inclusion in the Olympic programme is strong. What are the key factors that have enabled Modern Pentathlon to retain its place in the programme?
Dr. Klaus Schormann: Modern Pentathlon has been a core sport of the Olympic Games ever since 1912. Although it has had to justify its inclusion in the Olympic programme several times, it has retained a constant presence and this is because of two things: strong Olympic heritage and modern innovation. First we had to shorten the Modern Pentathlon from five days in duration to one day, because it was not compatible with the demands of the mass media, viewers and spectators.
To make it a more compelling spectacle, we introduced several changes and developments. We introduced Laser Pistols at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. We created a running/shooting Combined Event (like winter biathlon) that made the sport safer for athletes and spectators, allowing them to get closer to the action than ever before. Most recently, in addition to the fencing round robin, pentathletes have the opportunity to win extra points in a new bonus round. In less than an hour, all of the athletes compete on one piste in front of the spectators to win bonus seconds for the Combined Event.
To make our sport more compact and exciting, we had to adapt our format as we are living in a fast changing world with a modern, diverse and digital society. You can inspire others to change, only if you are ready to change yourself. Our new format is compact, media and spectator friendly with entertainment in between. It is not only a competition anymore – it is five sports brought together to create one big event. As De Coubertin wrote in 1918, “the individual who truly deserves that name ‘Olympian’ is the competitor in the modern pentathlon”. We are certain that he would have approved of Modern Pentathlon’s proven ability to move with the times and stay fresh.
 
HOST CITY: As a member of the IOC Commission on Culture and Olympic Heritage, do you think modern pentathlon can play a role in helping the IOC to realise its Agenda 2020 aim of further blending sport and culture?
Dr. Klaus Schormann: UIPM can, like all of the International Federations in the Olympic Movement, play a role in helping the IOC to realise this goal. Only together can we implement another of Pierre de Coubertin’s visions: to “blend sport with culture and education” as in the Ancient Games.
Due to the concentration on sport, the influence of the Olympic Movement’s cultural activities has been limited even though many committed institutions and communities like museums, academies, historians, collectors or artists for instance have been established. However, our mission as members of the IOC Commission on Culture and Olympic Heritage is to develop concepts and programmes to further blend sport and culture at each Olympic Games and in the years between. This only goes hand in hand with the whole Olympic Family to create values with culture.
 
HOST CITY: And how can the values of UIPM and Olympism help with the education and personal development of young people worldwide?
Dr. Klaus Schormann: In our fast changing world, education has an important role in society. As Nelson Mandela said “Sport has the power to change the world” and currently we need to change and act against crime, hate and discrimination more than ever before.
Modern Pentathlon is not only a big event but it has remained through 100 years of history very traditional and unique in the Olympic Movement. The Olympic Agenda 2020 clearly demonstrates our decision to live up to our values and principles. The values of “excellence, respect, friendship, dialogue, diversity, non-discrimination, tolerance, fair play, solidarity, development and peace” should be demonstrated through our sport around the world. Our Unity in Diversity is important to make those values and principles remain relevant in society.
Through Modern Pentathlon with the five different skills you have a platform for education, integration of all religions and cultural societies with the message for a more friendly, humanitarian and peaceful world. 

HOST CITY: How do the UIPM’s other events, such as the new Laser Run format, help to engage new athletes and audiences? 
Dr. Klaus Schormann: The Laser-Run is the latest original creation of UIPM, derived from the Combined Event and launched in 2015 as a non-Olympic sub-sport. The simple format of running/shooting helps introduce and engage new athletes and new audiences as athletes of all ages from 8 to 80 can participate and the event can be staged on beaches, in cities and in the countryside. 
The Laser Run is the basis of the UIPM Pyramid and for many is the first step on the way to participating in Modern Pentathlon. The bigger the basis, the more athletes will find their way to the top. Modern Pentathlon keeps the legacy of Pierre de Coubertin as a strong heritage. 

Ten refugee athletes will take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016 this summer in the first ever Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), the International Olympic Committee announced on 3 June. 
Rami Anis, Yiech Pur Biel, James Chiengjiek, Yonas Kinde, Anjelina Lohalith, Rose Lokonyen, Paulo Lokoro, Yolande Mabika, Yusra Mardini and Popole Misenga will march with the Olympic flag immediately before host nation Brazil during the Opening Ceremony. 
“These refugees have no home, no team, no flag, no national anthem. We will offer them a home in the Olympic Village together with all the athletes of the word. The Olympic anthem will be played in their honour and the Olympic flag will lead them into the Olympic Stadium,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
”This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis. It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society. These refugee athletes will show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies that they have faced, anyone can contribute to society through their talent, skills and strength of the human spirit.”
As part of the IOC’s pledge to aid potential elite athletes affected by the worldwide refugee crisis, NOCs around the world were asked to identify any refugee athlete with the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Such candidates could then receive funding from Olympic Solidarity to assist with their preparations and qualification efforts.
Forty-three promising candidates were initially identified. Selection of the ten athletes was based on consultation with their host National Olympic Committees (NOCs), International Federations, the UNHCR and the NOCs of their countries of origin. Nomination criteria included sporting level, official refugee status verified by the United Nations, and personal situation and background. 
Five of the athletes originate from South Sudan, two from Syria, two from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one from Ethiopia. Five are hosted by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, two by Brazil, one by Germany, one by Luxembourg and one by Belgium. 
Six of the athletes will compete in athletics running events, two in swimming and two in judo.
Like all teams at the Olympic Games, the ROT will have its own entourage to meet all the required technical needs of the athletes. Olympian and former marathon world record-holder Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) was named the team’s Chef de Mission, while Isabela Mazão (Brazil), who was proposed by the UNHCR, will act as the Deputy Chef de Mission. They will lead a crew of five coaches and five other team officials.
The team will be housed in the Olympic Village like all the other teams and will get its own welcome ceremony at the Olympic Village, like all other teams. Team uniforms will be provided by the IOC.
For all official representations of the team (including possible medal ceremonies), the Olympic flag will be raised and the Olympic Anthem will be played. 
A proper doping control process will be introduced through the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Olympic Solidarity will cover preparation, travel and other participation expenses for the team and will continue to support the athletes of the team after the Olympic Games.
The IOC will also continue to support the refugee athletes after the Games.
Through Olympic Solidarity and its Olympic Scholarships for Athletes programme, the IOC aims to help smaller NOCs prepare and qualify their athletes for the Olympic Games. The IOC’s priority is to focus primarily on athletes who need the assistance the most and to place them on an equal footing with their competitors from more developed regions of the world. In the lead-up to London 2012, for example, 1,264 Olympic scholarships were allocated to athletes from 171 NOCs in 21 sports. 657 'scholars' eventually took part in the Games. They won a total of 72 medals.
Following the approval of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, and in light of the current global refugee crisis, the IOC also created a special fund of USD 2 million to develop relief projects through sport in collaboration with NOCs around the world. Over 15 NOCs have already made use of this fund.
The IOC already works with a number of United Nations agencies to help refugees around the world. For the last 20 years, the IOC and UNHCR in particular have been using sport to support healing and development among young refugees in many camps and settlements around the world. They have consequently seen thousands of refugees benefit from sports programmes and equipment donated by the IOC.
The biographies of all athletes and their entourage are available here.
 

As violence between protesters and government forces escalated in Kiev, police stated on Thursday that protesters had taken over regional administration headquarters including Lviv, which is bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Speaking at a press conference in Sochi, IOC communications director Mark Adams said of the conflict, “Those are terrible scenes. The Olympic Truce is an important symbolic thing for us.”

The Olympic Truce was established in antiquity between the host city state and its neighbours to ensure safe delivery of the Olympic Games. It was revived in 1993 by a UN resolution and in 1998 the IOC called upon all nations to observe the Truce.

“I’m not sure it plays much part in what’s going on there [in Ukraine]. But clearly we hope the situation will be solved as quickly and with as little bloodshed as possible,” said Adams.

As the ceasefire broke, Bubka tweeted: "I want to bring Olympic Truce to my country. Our athletes are competing hard in Sochi, but peacefully and with honor. Violence has no place in the world."

Bubka, whose 21-year-old pole vault world record was broken in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk on 16 February by Renaud Lavillenie, is a crucial figurehead of Lviv’s bid for the 2022 Games.

He announced on his website: “I'm shocked by what is happening in my native country – especially because the violence is taking place during the Olympic Games – the world’s most peaceful and democratic event. 

“I am once again urging all parties to stop the violence! There is no 'their' Ukraine, or 'your' Ukraine. It is OUR Ukraine. For the sake of the future of our kids let's do everything possible to get back to negotiations and make a compromise.

“I am now in Sochi and I know that our Olympic athletes who compete for the glory of Ukraine fully support me.”

A total 45 athletes from the Ukraine travelled to Sochi 2014. However, BBC journalist Richard Conway tweeted on Thursday that up to half of these Olympians had returned home because of “unrest in their country.”

Several media outlets reported that Ukrainian skier Bogdana Matsotka pulled out of the Games in protest at the use of force in Kiev. On Thursday, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said 28 people had died and 287 had been hospitalised during the standoff between police and protesters in Kiev. Ukraine’s Interior ministry confirmed that security forces had opened fire on protesters.

Black armbands in the Olympic Village

Meanwhile, a request from the Ukrainian Olympic Committee for their athletes to wear black armbands in memory of those killed was rejected by the IOC. 

A statement on the Ukrainian Olympic Committee website said: “Sharing deep pain over the loss of fellow countrymen, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee appealed to the International Olympic Committee to allow Ukrainian athletes to wear black armbands as a sign of mourning, an expression of sorrow and sympathy.

“The answer was received from the IOC that in accordance with the Olympic charter it is not possible to do this.”

Instead, Ukrainian athletes attached black armbands to the national flags hanging from their balconies in the Olympic Village.

IOC President Thomas Bach expressed his sympathy for the Ukraine and his admiration for its Olympians. "I would like to offer my condolences to those who have lost loved ones in these tragic events," he said.

"Our thoughts and sympathy are with the Ukrainian team at what must be a very difficult time. The way they have continued to represent their nation with great dignity is a credit to them and their country. 

"Their presence here is a symbol that sport can build bridges and help to bring people from different backgrounds together in peace.”