Doha, Qatar, October 17, 2019: The 24th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) got underway at the Doha Sheraton on Thursday morning with the attendance of 204 of the 206 NOCs from around the world.
With the addition of IOC members, representatives of International Sport Federations, Olympic Games organising committees and other stakeholders, the total attendance was over 1,200 delegates.
The Acting President of ANOC, Dr Robin Mitchell of Fiji, opened the meeting and thanked the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, as well as the Qatar Olympic Committee, for the organisation of the “very successful” World Beach Games which concluded the previous day.
“It has been a joy to see athletes from all over the world in an exciting and dynamic mixture of beach, sea and action sports. They were an excellent Games,” he said.
Regarding the attendance at the meeting, Dr Mitchell said it highlighted the power of sport and the strength of the Olympic movement.
The QOC President, His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, welcomed all the delegates to Qatar and said the QOC provided constant support to the Olympic movement in hosting many major championships and also was a proud protector of the Olympic values and promoter of Sport For All.
*Recipients of the ANOC Merit Award included the former QOC Secretary General, HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, for his dedicated work over 14 years in raising the profile of Qatar as a host of major international sports events.
*The QOC President, HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, received a gift of appreciation from ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg for the work in preparing for the first World Beach Games since being appointed host city in June to replace San Diego.
*In his keynote speech, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke of the growth of the Olympic movement in its 125th anniversary year, from 14 countries in 1894 to 206 NOCs in 2019, proving unity in diversity.
He also repeated his statement that he had never seen a host city as well prepared as Tokyo to stage the Olympic Games, and the “athletes first” policy was reflected in the fact that the marathon and race walking events had been moved to Sapporo, 800km to the north of the capital and 5-6C lower, to avoid the summer heat and humidity in Tokyo.
The IOC President urged the NOCs to use their funds from the IOC for the development and support of athletes and to be transparent in this process in terms of facilities, training, competition and scholarships.
*ANOC Acting President Dr Robin Mitchell announced that the presidential election involving Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah would be adjourned for the balance of the quadrennial term to 2022, unless there was a change in the situation and the Executive Council needed to reconsider the resolution.
This concluded the first session of the General Assembly.
