Press Release courtesy of IOC
The new agreement builds on the current partnership and cooperation agreements that were signed prior to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As a result of the new partnership:
- The IOC will continue to make it obligatory for any host of the Olympic Games also to organise the Paralympic Games.
- The IOC and IPC will work together to increase the visibility of the Paralympic Games and enhance the Paralympic brand.
- The two organisations will deepen existing cooperation, specifically on the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020, the strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.
- The agreement will give financial stability to the IPC for at least the next 14 years, from which in turn the whole Paralympic Movement will benefit.
Thomas Bach, IOC President, said: “Enhancing the cooperation between the Olympic and Paralympic Movement was one of the key recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020. Therefore, the IOC is pleased to strengthen its substantial support to the IPC and the entire Paralympic Movement because we share so many of the same values and objectives,” he added.
Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “Strengthening the relationship with the IOC and securing the future of the IPC and the Paralympic Movement was my number-one priority when I was elected as IPC President last September. Therefore, I am delighted that we have signed a historic long-term new partnership agreement and can now look forward to an exciting future working together.
“There can be no doubt that the IPC and the Paralympic Movement would not be where it is today without the support and cooperation of the IOC. Since our first formal agreement signed in 2000, the Paralympic Games and the Movement as a whole have grown beyond all recognition.
“Both organisations share a passion that sport can change lives and that sport can change the world. Working together and even closer into a fourth decade will further the impact both of our work has on society.
“It is fitting that this agreement is signed here in South Korea, as it was in this country that the Olympic and Paralympic Games came together as one sports event in Seoul in 1988. Thirty years on, we are here in PyeongChang for the biggest Paralympic Winter Games to date featuring a record number of athletes, countries, broadcasters and media.”
The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international organisation made up of volunteers, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of 3.4 million US dollars goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.