The IOC meets to elect hosts of the XXVI and XXVII Olympic Winter Games and to eliminate a mistake with IBA in the Olympic Charter. GETTY IMAGES

The 142nd International Olympic Committee Session will take place on 23-24 July at the Palais des Congres in Paris, with the first day of the session dedicated to reports of President Thomas Bach and on the activities of the Coordination Commissions on the next Olympic Games.

The IOC is expected to elect hosts of 26th and 27th Winter Olympics and eliminate a legal error regarding the International Boxing Association's status in the Olympic Charter. 

The main point of the second day of the session is the election of the hosts of the 26th and 27th Olympic Winter Games. Salt Lake City (USA) is bidding for both Games. The US city, which hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, is the only candidate for the 2034 Games and has the best chance of winning. The French Alps bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics is backed by the IOC and is the most likely to win, as the IOC has launched a targeted dialogue phase with France. The other two candidates for the 2030 Winter Olympics are Stockholm-Åre (Sweden) and Switzerland (a joint bid by cities and cantons).

Other points on the agenda include amendments to the Olympic Charter. One of the proposed amendments concerns IOC members. According to point 16.3.3.2.2 of the Olympic Charter, there may be no more than five IOC members for whom the age limit is extended at any time. The new proposal is to extend this number to ten.

French Alps' bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics is the most likely to win. GETTY IMAGES
French Alps' bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics is the most likely to win. GETTY IMAGES

According to the Olympic Charter (Rule 16.3.3.2), any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which he or she reaches the age of 70, but according to the By-Laws to Rule 16, any IOC member whose election took effect before the date of the closing of the 110th  Session (11 December 1999) must retire by the end of the calendar year during which he or she reaches the age of 80. For example, current IOC President Thomas Bach who turns 71 this year, was elected as an IOC member in 1999 and therefore has the right to remain an IOC member until he is 80 years old.

At the moment, there are five IOC members over the age limit: IOC Vice-Presidents Yu Zaiqing (China) and John Coates (Australia); Uğur Erdener, President of the NOC of Turkey and SportAccord; Luis Alberto Moreno (Colombia), Chairman of the Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Commission; and Luis Mejía Oviedo, President of the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee. All were elected after 2000 and are over 70 years old. It is clear that the change in the rule is intended to ensure that individual members can remain in office after the age of 70 without "losing" these five members. Although it is difficult to say whether it is intended for specific individuals or a group of people, there are some important IOC members who will turn 70 in the next three years.

The President of the European Olympic Committees Spyros Capralos will turn 70 in 2025. GETTY IMAGES
The President of the European Olympic Committees Spyros Capralos will turn 70 in 2025. GETTY IMAGES

The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, Mustapha Berraf (Algeria), is already 70 years old and must resign his membership at the end of the year. The President of the European Olympic Committees, Spyros Capralos (Greece), the President of the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee, Kee Heung Lee, and the former President of the Argentinean Olympic Committee, Gerardo Werthein, will have to step down at the end of 2025.

Among the sports persons who will have to step down at the end of 2026 are the president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Tricia Smith, the president of the International Tennis Federation, David Haggerty, and the president of the World Athletics Sebastian Coe. The latter has already publicly expressed his desire to be elected as the next IOC President.

There is no doubt that the memberships of some of these IOC members will be extended in the next few years if the rule amendments are submitted during the session.

Another proposed change concerns the sports and international federations currently included in the Olympic programme.

IOC withdrew the Olympic recognition from IBA on 22 June, 2023, during the 140th extraordinary session in Lausanne. GETTY IMAGES
IOC withdrew the Olympic recognition from IBA on 22 June, 2023, during the 140th extraordinary session in Lausanne. GETTY IMAGES

If one of the changes has obvious reasons - the International Swimming Federation (FINA) has been renamed World Aquatics after the approval of the new constitution in December 2022 - the second one is related to the world's main governing body of boxing - the International Boxing Association (IBA).

The IOC withdrew the Olympic recognition from the IBA in June 2023, during the 140th extraordinary session in Lausanne, Switzerland. Having done this, the IOC was expected to amend the Olympic Charter simultaneously with the decision to withdraw IBA recognition, but they did not do this neither at the 140th extraordinary session nor at the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai, India. 

Probably in a hurry, IOC officials just forgot that the recognised International Federations are mentioned in the Olympic Charter, and IBA remained in the main document of the Olympic movement for more than one year. Now, it seems the IOC si set to fix this unfortunate legal mistake that, however, does not change status of IBA.