 Katarina Witt, former German figure skating great, and Munich Mayor Christian Ude pose for photographers in Munich, southern Germany. AP photo |
IOC leaders are meeting this week to review preparations for the next three Olympics, consider sanctions against unrecognized national Olympic bodies and discuss the upcoming sale of U.S. television rights.
The International Olympic Committee executive board convenes for a two-day meeting Wednesday, kicking off a year that does not include an Olympics but will feature the selection in July of the host city for the 2018 Winter Games.
The three candidate cities - Annecy, France; Munich; and Pyeongchang, South Korea - submitted their official bid documents to the IOC by Tuesday's deadline, setting the stage for the final six months of the campaign. The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.
Meantime, the IOC has some other pressing issues to deal with.
The committee is getting ready for the next auction of lucrative U.S. broadcast rights, which could now include a package of four Olympics instead of the usual two-game deal.
Richard Carrion, the IOC executive board member who handles the U.S. rights, told The Associated Press last week that the networks have expressed interested in bidding for the 2018 and 2020 Olympics as well as the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"We realize this is a major decision going forward for any of these guys (networks)," Carrion said. "We want to make sure that they come with their best and highest (bids)."
The likely contenders for any rights package include incumbent NBC, ESPN and Fox, along with a potential bid from CBS and Turner. Adding two more Olympics to the package could bring the total rights fee to more than $4 billion.
TV rights fees provide the bulk of the IOC's revenue, with the U.S. share accounting for more than half the total. About half the money goes to host cities, with the rest split among the IOC, international federations and national Olympic committees.
The IOC will also receive updates from London, Sochi and Rio organizers.
With 18 months to go before the 2012 Olympics, London is on track in its 9.3 billion pound project. The first major new venue in the Olympic Park - the velodrome - is set to be completed next month and the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium is due to be finished by the summer. Tickets go on sale in March.
The main bone of contention remains the post-games use of the Olympic Stadium, which organizers originally promised would be used largely for track and field. Two London Premier League football clubs are bidding to take over the stadium, with West Ham proposing to keep the track but Tottenham planning to remove it. A final decision is expected by March.
The IOC has praised the progress in Sochi, the Black Sea resort that was awarded Russia's first Winter Games in 2007. Nearly all the venues are being built from scratch in a multi-billion-dollar effort.
The IOC has said some aspects need close monitoring, including the development of hotels and recruitment and training of staff and volunteers.
Rio, which will host the first Olympics in South America, unveiled its new logo during New Year's Eve celebrations at Copacabana beach. Rogge attended the event and met with new Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who assured the IOC that her government will fully support the games.
The International Olympic Committee executive board convenes for a two-day meeting Wednesday, kicking off a year that does not include an Olympics but will feature the selection in July of the host city for the 2018 Winter Games.
The three candidate cities - Annecy, France; Munich; and Pyeongchang, South Korea - submitted their official bid documents to the IOC by Tuesday's deadline, setting the stage for the final six months of the campaign. The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on July 6 in Durban, South Africa.
Meantime, the IOC has some other pressing issues to deal with.
The committee is getting ready for the next auction of lucrative U.S. broadcast rights, which could now include a package of four Olympics instead of the usual two-game deal.
Richard Carrion, the IOC executive board member who handles the U.S. rights, told The Associated Press last week that the networks have expressed interested in bidding for the 2018 and 2020 Olympics as well as the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"We realize this is a major decision going forward for any of these guys (networks)," Carrion said. "We want to make sure that they come with their best and highest (bids)."
The likely contenders for any rights package include incumbent NBC, ESPN and Fox, along with a potential bid from CBS and Turner. Adding two more Olympics to the package could bring the total rights fee to more than $4 billion.
TV rights fees provide the bulk of the IOC's revenue, with the U.S. share accounting for more than half the total. About half the money goes to host cities, with the rest split among the IOC, international federations and national Olympic committees.
The IOC will also receive updates from London, Sochi and Rio organizers.
With 18 months to go before the 2012 Olympics, London is on track in its 9.3 billion pound project. The first major new venue in the Olympic Park - the velodrome - is set to be completed next month and the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium is due to be finished by the summer. Tickets go on sale in March.
The main bone of contention remains the post-games use of the Olympic Stadium, which organizers originally promised would be used largely for track and field. Two London Premier League football clubs are bidding to take over the stadium, with West Ham proposing to keep the track but Tottenham planning to remove it. A final decision is expected by March.
The IOC has praised the progress in Sochi, the Black Sea resort that was awarded Russia's first Winter Games in 2007. Nearly all the venues are being built from scratch in a multi-billion-dollar effort.
The IOC has said some aspects need close monitoring, including the development of hotels and recruitment and training of staff and volunteers.
Rio, which will host the first Olympics in South America, unveiled its new logo during New Year's Eve celebrations at Copacabana beach. Rogge attended the event and met with new Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who assured the IOC that her government will fully support the games.
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