The Latest Breaking News from International Olympic Committee

IOC approves proposal to include skateboarding, surfing and rock climbing at 2028 LA Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has approved a proposal to include surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing among the core sports for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Times · Feb 3, 2022

Silence is golden? Olympic athletes' freedom of speech muted by Games organizers

Beyond the Olympic’s facade of glitz, glamour and gold there’s a glaring and controversial regulation — the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Rule 50. Rule 50 prohibits athletes from demonstrating during competition or on the podium.

The Conversation · Feb 3, 2022

Olympics-Tibetans march on IOC headquarters to protest Beijing Games

Several hundred Tibetan and Uyghur activists marched on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, a day before Beijing 2022 opens, accusing the Swiss-based organisation of complicity in "atrocities" committed against ethnic minorities in China.

Reuters · Feb 3, 2022

Follow China's party line or face consequences

In a park in central Beijing, a bust of International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was unveiled in January. It was made in a similar style to two other busts already installed there of Bach's predecessors, Jacques Rogge and Juan Antonio Samaranch. Alongside these busts is another statue that was…

The Japan News/Yomiuri · Feb 2, 2022

Beijing Winter Olympics: 2022 Games shrouded in controversy

While the International Olympic Committee has said that politics and sport do not mix, there are many examples to the contrary. Athletes have often been advocates for social change, while activists are angry about Beijing hosting the Winter Olympics despite rampant allegations of human rights abuses. More than 200 global…

France 24 · Feb 1, 2022

Olympics-Rule 50 on political protests a conundrum for athletes in Beijing

Athletes considering staging political protests during the Beijing 2022 Winter Games will have to negotiate the International Olympic Committee's Rule 50 which originally banned such behaviour but now offers more freedom.

Reuters · Feb 1, 2022

Olympics-Beijing Games organisers hope to have 30% capacity in venues

Organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are hoping for stadium capacities of at least 30% despite China's enforcement of tight regulations to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday.

Reuters · Feb 1, 2022

Olympics-Team Taiwan says it will be at Beijing Games opening ceremony

Taiwan's team for the Beijing Winter Olympics will be at the opening and closing ceremonies after being told by the International Olympic Committee it was required to participate.

Reuters · Feb 1, 2022

Beijing Olympics Ready to Go but Controversies, Covid Weigh Heavy

A Winter Olympics overshadowed by diplomatic boycotts and concerns about human rights, Covid and the safety of Peng Shuai begins next Friday in a vast "bubble" in the Chinese capital Beijing. Warnings about air pollution, government snooping and the environmental impact of a Games which relies almost entirely on man-made…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Jan 28, 2022

Beijing steels itself for the Winter Games

Back in July last year, the International Olympic Committee announced a change to the Olympic motto, adding the word "Together" to its old 125-year-old "Faster, Higher, Stronger" banner. It was meant to signify the importance of standing together in solidarity. But as Beijing readies itself to host this year's Winter…

Bangkok Post · Jan 27, 2022