The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have signed a long-term agreement that will run through the 2032 Olympic Games, which is an extension, renewal, and rebuild of an agreement signed before the the 2012 London Olympics that ran only through 2020. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Under this new agreement, the IOC and IPC will cooperate with the aim of:
- Increasing the visibility of the Paralympic Games and enhance the Paralympic brand;
- Deepening existing cooperation, specifically on the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement;
- Ensuring the financial stability and long-term viability of the IPC, the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement.
The agreement highlights the underrecognized fact that while the IOC and IPC share venues and timelines for their marquee event every quadrennial, the two are not the same organization, and are rather parallel and partner organizations. That led to some confusion last month when British Paralympian Josef Craig was disqualified at the IPC Swimming European Championships for sporting an Olympic rings tattoo – a symbol of the IOC – as an interpretation that it was unauthorized “body advertising.”
“This agreement is an important milestone in the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020,” said IOCPresident Thomas Bach. “The IOC and IPC share the same goal of making the world a better place through sport, and I look forward to our two organisations working closely together to achieve this. The IPC’s focus on sport for all and on high-level performance will enable it to reach more and more people around the world, and to ensure the organisation’s long-term success.”
IPC President Sir Philip Craven said: “I am delighted that the IPC and IOC have agreed on the principles and vision behind a new long-term agreement that will further strengthen and support the Paralympic Movement in the years to come. The IOC is the IPC’s number one strategic partner, and we are grateful to President Bach and the Olympic Movement for their continued support. We will now work together over the coming weeks and months to finalise the agreement which will take our partnership into a fourth decade and make the Paralympic Movement more self-sustainable.”