Bach kept a positive tone in his views on Beijing 2022, pointing to viewing figures of more than two billion and hailing the event as the most appealing sports and entertainment event in the world.
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has presented his New Year address, and described 2022 as successful as it was turbulent. Bach kept a positive tone in his views on Beijing 2022, pointing to viewing figures of more than two billion and hailing the event as the most appealing sports and entertainment event in the world. Western nations, including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, joined the diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 owing to human rights concerns, with hosts China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, as well as its record in Tibet and Hong Kong, under investigation.
Bach then shifted his attention to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, assisted by Belarus, in the days following the Winter Olympics. He restated the IOC’s stance in response to the war, differentiating between sanctions including a ban on both nations’ national symbols and protective measures in urging that Russian and Belarussian athletes not compete in international sport. A suggestion to let Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as neutrals at Olympic Council of Asia qualifying events was discussed by the IOC at the Olympic Summit earlier this month, drawing condemnation from Ukraine, particularly from the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In his New Year’s greeting, Bach promised his support for Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community, expressing a desire for a strong squad to compete at Paris 2024 and Milan Cortina 2026.
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“These Olympic Winter Games faced unprecedented challenges against the backdrop of political tensions and a global pandemic. Despite this, these Games offered the most outstanding conditions for the athletes in an absolutely safe and secure environment. The athletes expressed their gratitude by stepping up and amazing the world with their response to all the challenges and adversity. They showed all of us the best that humankind can be, if we come together in peace and solidarity, ” Bach stated.
“Such encouraging signs of support give us all the more reason to promote our unifying mission with our full determination – and it gives us hope that it will bring us closer to being able to once again fully live up to the mission of sport to unite the entire world in peaceful competition. In this spirit, we can look ahead to 2023 with hope and optimism. All the support from all walks of life for our peace-mission shows: the power of sport as a force for good in the world is widely acknowledged – and it is needed more than ever. Especially in a time when division and conflict is gaining ground over dialogue and cooperation – in a time, when, tragically, it is not people but the guns of war that are doing the talking,” he said.
