European Olympic Committees convene in Bucharest
Leaders of European sports met in Bucharest, before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, for the first time in the last 12 years
Mihai Pelin, 07.06.2024, 13:50
Leaders of European Olympic Committees met in Bucharest on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the Association of European Olympic Committees (EOC), chaired by members of the Executive Committee and Thomas Bach, the chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who was the guest of honor of the Assembly. The meeting was hosted by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, whose chairman, Mihai Covaliu, spoke about Romania’s performances. “Romania is among the top 20 nations in the world with 309 Olympic medals. Our champions became known worldwide through their performances, putting Romania on the Olympic map. Nadia Comăneci or Elisabeta Lipă, Ivan Patzaichin or Iolanda Balaș represent models who stepped beyond Romania’s borders to create an immeasurable legacy for every generation that wanted to match or surpass their achievements”, Covaliu said.
The meeting addressed progress reported since the last meeting in Istanbul, according to the 2030 Strategic Agenda. At the same time, officials presented updates on the EOC events in 2025, including the European Winter and Summer Youth Olympic Festival and the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE). An important item on the agenda of the General Assembly was a session devoted to the impact of Artificial Intelligence on sports. Thomas Bach emphasized the importance of observing and following the IOC’s 2020+5 Agenda, highlighting the solidarity and responsibility shown by the Olympic Committee during the pandemic. The IOC official hailed efforts made by all European National Olympic Committees in implementing IOC recommendations. In turn, Spyros Capralos, the chairman of the EOC, referred to the importance of cooperation between the IOC and EOC, highlighting Romania’s proud and long-standing history of Olympic success and expressing joy that the EOC Assembly is hosted by Bucharest, also known as “Little Paris”.
The chairman of the IOC, Thomas Bach, was also received by president Klaus Iohannis. During the meeting, the two discussed the essential role of the Olympic Games in promoting peace, dialogue, cooperation and solidarity between nations. The two officials also discussed the unifying potential of sport in the current security context through the organization of the Summer Olympics, which will take place over July 26 – August 11 in France. The president of Romania emphasized the importance of physical exercise for the development of a society, as well as the impact of sport on healthy living. In turn, the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, said that Olympic associations have reported significant progress in terms of encouraging young generations to take up sports and emphasized the need to encourage society-wide sports, as well as their importance for mental health. Another topic addressed was related to the outstanding performances of Romanian athletes who will take part in the Summer Olympics. (VP)
