Xinhua News Agency, Lausanne, June 25 (Reporter Prince Jiang Gaopeng Ji Ye) International Olympic Committee President Bach said here on the 25th that people are now facing a turbulent world, the Olympic spirit is more important under such circumstances. He called on all governments to respect the Olympic spirit, because only the Olympic Games can unite people all over the world for “peaceful competition”.
Bach made the above statement in his speech at the 134th plenary session of the International Olympic Committee held here. He said that the Olympic spirit advocated by Coubertin “has passed the test of time”, today, when we are constantly trying to split the world, it is necessary to review the Olympic spirit advocated by Coubertin.
He said: “There is not a day when we cannot hear the news that nationalism, protectionism are getting worse and each other is broken. In this dangerous world, we see more isolation, more separation and more confrontation, while less and less cooperation. This shows us that Olympic values are as important as ever.”
He also said: “Only the Olympic Games can unite the whole world and compete peacefully. Only when everyone participates can the Olympic Games unite the whole world. Therefore, everyone should respect the Olympic spirit and unite under the Olympic banner.”
Bach called on governments of all countries not to promote sports competitions for commercial interests, because it violated the Olympic ideal. He refers to the International Swimming League of folk swimming events launched last year, which is highly sought after by many famous swimming players because of its generous bonus. Finally, under the intervention of FINA, the new event originally planned to be held at the end of December was forced to be canceled. After the FINA, it was announced that the total bonus of the short Pool World Championship held in mid-December increased significantly, hoping to compete with the new events and appease the athletes’ mood. FIBA has encountered a similar situation in Europe.
Bach said: “Sports without values are just entertainment. Although Olympic Games must also attract people, they must not be just entertainment.”
“We emphasize values. We organize competitions for athletes from all sports. No matter whether these competitions are commercially successful, we are not running competitions to pick peaches.”
Bach will attend the G20 summit in Japan on 29th and will deliver a speech at the conference. He stressed at a press conference last week: “The core message I want to convey to leaders of all countries is, the Olympic Games is the only event that can unite athletes and refugee athletes from more than 200 countries and regions around the world. Everyone follows the same rules and lives in the same village, compete peacefully.”