Costa Navarino, Greece, March 17, 2025: A momentous week for the International Olympic Committee will end with the 10th IOC President in history.
Seven candidates will compete in the election on Thursday, March 20 for the presidency of the IOC at the 144th IOC Session held from March 18-21, 2025 in Olympia, Greece.
They will be bidding to become only the 10th President in the history of the IOC dating back to 1894, and to succeed Thomas Bach as the most powerful sports leader in the world. Bach became the ninth IOC President in 2013.
The seven candidates, in order of the draw for presentations, are:
*HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of Jordan Olympic Committee and IOC Executive Board member;
*Mr. David Lappartient, France, President of the International Cycling Union – UCI;
*Mr. Johan Eliasch, Great Britain, President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation - FIS;
*Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spain, IOC Vice President;
*Mrs Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe, IOC Executive Board member;
*Lord Sebastian Coe, Great Britain, President of World Athletics;
*Mr Morinari Watanabe, Japan, President of the International Gymnastics Federation – FIG.
The three-day Session will be held from March 19-21 at Costa Navarino in Greece, with the opening ceremony on Tuesday, March 18. It will be preceded by a meeting of the IOC Executive Board on Monday, March 17.
The IOC Session and Executive Board meeting will take place at the House of Events building, within the Romanos Resort in Costa Navarino, in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
The opening ceremony of the IOC Session will take place roughly 100km away at Olympia.
The IOC has planned a press conference with IOC President Bach and the President-elect on Thursday, March 20. The official handover of the presidential role will take place on June 23, as President Bach resigns as an IOC Member.