IOC plans major revamp of Olympic sports, host elections

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has proposed sweeping reforms to how Olympic sports are selected and how future host cities are chosen, in what could become one of the most significant governance overhauls in recent years.

The proposals, presented by IOC president Kirsty Coventry under the organisation's "Fit for the Future" initiative, aim to make the Olympic Games more transparent, sustainable, cost-efficient and athlete-focused.

A key change would see the IOC evaluate individual Olympic disciplines rather than entire sports when reviewing the games programme. According to the IOC, the new approach better reflects the actual impact of disciplines on venue requirements, operational complexity and overall costs.

Under the proposed framework, a discipline would be defined as one or more events within a sport that require a dedicated field of play or substantial modifications to an existing venue.

If approved by the IOC Session, the revised methodology will be introduced for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.

The new review system would create separate evaluation pathways for incumbent disciplines already included in the Olympic programme and candidate disciplines seeking entry. While both groups would face similar performance standards, the IOC said the distinction recognises differences in available data and ensures fairer assessments.

All disciplines would first undergo eligibility screening covering governance standards, anti-doping compliance, integrity safeguards and athlete protection measures. They would then be assessed on factors such as global appeal, athlete representation, cost and operational impact.

A final review stage would directly compare the strongest candidate disciplines with the weakest-performing incumbent disciplines using common benchmarks.

The IOC said the model is designed to strike a balance between maintaining an appropriate Games size, preserving global relevance and encouraging innovation through the inclusion of new disciplines.

The executive board has also proposed changes to the Olympic host election process, introducing a new "Strategic Dialogue" phase between the current Continuous Dialogue and Targeted Dialogue stages. The additional phase would allow the IOC Executive Board to identify and shortlist potential hosts before formal negotiations advance.

"The reforms are designed to enable potential hosts to develop their projects in a more cost-efficient way, offering planning security for governments while allowing sufficient time to build public support," the IOC said.

If endorsed by IOC members, the reforms would reshape both the Olympic programme and host city selection process, marking a new chapter in the governance of the Olympic Movement.

With IANS inputs