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There are seven candidates. All of them have published lengthy candidature documents, translated into several languages, which you can find via their individual pages on the IOC website, or from here. They are also profiled more succinctly at insidethegames here. But in very brief, they are:
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HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein Jordanian royal, president of the Jordanian Olympic Committee, long-time IOC member and former commander in the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
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David Lappartient French president of the UCI, world cycling’s governing body.
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Johan Eliasch Swedish-born, British-based billionaire businessman (he officially represents Great Britain on the IOC). President of the FIS, governing body of skiing and snowboarding. Chair of the sports equipment company Head, and former deputy treasurer of the Conservative Party.
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Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr Spanish son of the former IOC president of the same name.
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Kirsty Coventry The only woman on the shortlist. Zimbabwean retired swimmer (she won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008) and the country’s current minister of sport, arts and recreation.
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Sebastian Coe British former athlete, former Conservative MP, life peer, president of the London 2012 Olympic organising committee, former president of the British Olympic Association and president of World Athletics since 2015, reelected for a third and final term in 2023.
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Morinare Watanabe Japanese president of the FIG, the International Gymnastics Federation.
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The rules of the game
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This is pretty simple. At around 2pm GMT a secret ballot of all IOC members (there are currently 109 of them, including all seven candidates, though only 106 have turned up) will take place. Those standing for election, and their compatriots, are not allowed to vote until they or their compatriot are eliminated (though other associates of individual candidates are allowed to vote for them – controversially Samaranch’s family foundation is based in China and has two Chinese IOC members on the board). To be elected a candidate needs to win a simple majority of all votes cast. If nobody obtains a majority of the votes, whichever candidate has the fewest votes will be eliminated and a fresh round of voting will be held, and the process will be repeated until someone gets a majority.
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If no candidate wins a majority the precise number of votes cast for each candidate in each round of voting will not immediately be made public, but if the two worst-performing candidates have the same number of votes there will be a head-to-head elimination vote-off, and if they also get the same number of votes in that the IOC president himself will decide which of them gets the boot. This is vanishingly unlikely but would be quite fun. As soon as someone is elected the full results of each round of voting will be published.
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And that’s it. Strap yourselves in, let’s see what gets served up!
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Important Events
In addition to the seven candidates A total of eight IOC members will not be allowed to vote in the first round. They use an electronic voting process that includes some smart card currently being distributed.
All important procedural things It can be found at the preamble at the bottom of this page.
It's happening! I hope this will be fun at some point, but now someone is reading a little printout about the voting process.
The session has not been restarted. While I wait, I'm Sean Ingle's scene setter:
I have a break now While the room is cleared, a security sweep will take place, and all mobile phones and internet-connected devices will be handed over. Presidential votes will begin at GMT at 2:30pm in about 40 minutes.
Bach is giving a long speech now It proposes elections as an honorary member of the IOC, for how amazing and what has remained to be true of Italy's Francesco Rich Bitti. Ricci Bitti is an excellent name and is very shared with a very wonderful biscuit.
Other IOC-related news Before the cameras were turned on, former Olympian and chairman of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, Tony Estanguette, was elected as an IOC member, while Belgian Pierre Olivier was elected Vice President of the IOC.
The ban has been elected As an honorary member of the IOC. He gives a speech about his own “pride” and Bach's “wisdom.”
The IOC is currently in session. It begins with a speech from Thomas Bach on the contributions of Bankkimoon, former Secretary General of the United Nations, who has been chairing the IOC's ethics committee since 2017 and has been pacing himself.
Hello World!
It's a big day in the sports boardroom and behind the scenes hustle department. Thomas Bach resigned 12 years later as chairman of the International Olympic Committee (and will take on the new role of President Empire for Life. “When I was elected president 12 years ago, my first word was 'OUF' and that's the same now,” he responded). Today we find out who the person will be.
There are seven candidates. They all publish long candidate documents translated into several languages. here. It is also featured more concisely in InsideThegames here. But in very simple terms, they are:
HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein He is a longtime IOC member and former commander of the Jordanian Air Force, Chairman of the Royal Jordanian Olympic Committee.
David Lappartient The President of UCI, the governing body of World Cycling.
Johann Eliasch A Swedish-born, UK-based billionaire businessman (he officially represents Britain in the IOC). FIS president, the governing body of skiing and snowboarding. Chairman of the Sports Goods Company and former vice treasurer of the Conservative Party.
Juan Antonio Samaranche Jr. The Spanish son of a former IOC president with the same name.
Kirsty Coventry The only woman on the list. Zimbabwean retired swimmer (she won Olympic Gold in 2004 and 2008) and the country's current Minister of Sports, Arts and Recreation.
Sebastian Coe The former British athlete, former Conservative MP, Lifepier, chairman of the London 2012 Olympic Organising Committee, and since 2015, the former president of the British Olympic Association and World Athletics president was re-elected in 2023 for his third final term.
Morinea Watanabe The President of Japan, the International Gymnastics Federation.
Game rules
This is very easy. At around 2pm on GMT, a secret vote for all IOC members (currently, 109 people including 106, including only 109, but only 106 appeared). Those standing for the election, and their fellow citizens, are not permitted to vote until they or their fellow citizens are excluded (though other peers of the individual candidates are permitted to vote for them, the controversial Samaranche family foundation is based in China and has two Chinese IOC members on the board). To be selected, the candidate must win the majority of all votes to be cast. If they have not received a majority of votes, the candidate who has the fewest votes is eliminated, a new vote is made, and the process is repeated until someone has a majority.
If the candidates have not won a majority, the number of votes voted for each candidate will not be made public immediately, but if two worst candidates have the same number of votes, then an elimination vote will be held from the head and the IOC president himself gets the same number of votes to decide which of them, this will be inevitably unlikely, but very enjoyable. As soon as someone is elected, the full results for each round of vote will be published.
And that's all. Strap yourself and see what's offered!
