IOC Executive Board meeting decides presidential voting regulations

The IOC approved presidential election rules, recommended Dolomiti Valtellina for the 2028 Winter Youth Olympics, and announced key updates on upcoming games and media awards.

GENEVA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) approved the presentation and voting regulations for the upcoming IOC presidential election in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday.

The EB discussed a range of issues on the first day of their three-day meeting, announcing several key decisions during an online news conference afterward, including the presidential voting regulations submitted by the IOC Ethics Commission.

IOC members will listen to presentations from the seven presidential candidates during an online meeting on January 30, 2025. The election voting will take place at the 144th IOC Session, which will be held in Greece from March 19-21.

The EB recommended Dolomiti Valtellina in Italy as the host for the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games, a proposal which will also be subject to a vote at the January IOC members meeting.

The IOC stated that the Dolomiti Valtellina project was developed by the Italian Olympic Committee with support from the national government, the governments of the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, and the Autonomous Province of Trentino.

Updates were also presented by the Organizing Committees for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games. The IOC noted that these two editions "take center stage" during the EB meeting.

Additionally, the IOC announced the winners of the 2024 Olympic Golden Rings Awards, which are presented to the Olympic Media Rights-Holders (MRHs). Awards were given to 10 MRHs across 12 categories, including Best Digital Offer, Best Athlete Profile, and Best Director.

The evaluation criteria for the 2030 French Alps Olympic Winter Games program were defined by the IOC, using the evaluation model for the LA28 Olympic sports program as a basis.

"Beyond the seven sports on the initial sports program that were approved at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris this year, the host Organizing Committee (OCOG) has the opportunity to propose additional sports for inclusion in the program. The same evaluation criteria, where relevant, will be used to assess any sports proposed by the OCOG," the IOC stated.

The EB also approved events and athlete quotas for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, with a focus on creating a program that resonates with the local context, maintains elite youth competition standards, and ensures gender equality, the IOC announced. ■