The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared that Asuncion, Paraguay; Bangkok, Thailand; and Santiago, Chile, have been asked to participate in a Targeted Dialogue to choose the 2030 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) host. The IOC will now begin talks with the three, who are all seen as preferred hosts, about initial ideas to overhaul the YOG. At a video conference following the EB meeting, IOC President Kirsty Coventry stated, “We need to have very clear clarity on what we want the Games (YOG) to be, how we want them to be produced, and really look at reshaping them so that they are fit for the future.”
In consultation with stakeholders like the International Federations (IFs) as part of the Fit for the Future review process, IOC’s YOG Working Group will continue to investigate the potential and relevance of future editions of the YOG to benefit young athletes and the entire sports movement, IOC announced. According to Coventry, the IOC Athletes’ Commission member Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha, an Iranian badminton player, was chosen by the EB to be a candidate for IOC membership.
Additionally, the EB suggested that 11 IOC members under the age limit be re-elected, that two members’ terms be extended, that one member’s status be changed, and that two honorary members be elected to the 145th IOC Session, which will take place in Milan, Italy, from January 31 to February 2, 2026. “Soraya Aghaei will be proposed and nominated to join the IOC. That excites us greatly,” Coventry remarked. Ms. Patricia O’Brien has been suggested by the Ethics Commission and the EB to serve as chair of the IOC Ethics Commission for a four-year period. We suggested Mr. Karl Stoss and Mr. Kim Won-Soo as two additional members of the IOC Ethics Commission. We anticipate witnessing that during the session.
