12 Nov 2021 – Meeting this week in hybrid form, the Olympic Solidarity Commission made a series of important decisions, all aimed at strengthening the support provided to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and their athletes in the next three years.

Outstanding results of Olympic Solidarity-supported athletes in Tokyo

Reflecting on the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Commission noted the outstanding results of the 827 athletes – 465 men and 362 women – who were supported on their journey to the Games by an “Olympic Solidarity Scholarship for Athletes Tokyo 2020”.

Olympic scholarships contribute essential funding to cover an athlete’s training and competition expenses and are available to all NOCs, but in particular those with the greatest need. For Tokyo 2020, Olympic Solidarity invested a total of USD 47 million in this programme to enable 1,836 athletes from 186 NOCs to train towards their dream of competing at the Olympic Games. More than just helping athletes compete, these scholarships also helped drive global success in Tokyo, with 93 NOCs winning medals, more than at any previous Games.

Additional Olympic Solidarity subsidy for NOCs for Beijing 2022

The Olympic Solidarity Commission was informed that the NOCs are due to receive the IOC’s subsidy recognising their contribution to the success of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, amounting to a total of USD 28.5 million.

The Commission approved a subsidy to cover additional COVID-19 countermeasures costs incurred by the NOCs in their preparations for and participation in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

In April 2020, following the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Olympic Solidarity announced that it had increased the budget allocated to the “IOC Subsidies for the Participation of NOCs in the Olympic Games” programme by USD 10.3 million. This decision allowed NOCs to cover additional costs that occurred in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games.

Although the overall costs associated with the pandemic are expected to be lower for Beijing 2022 than for Tokyo 2020, NOCs will incur additional costs due in particular to testing requirements, increased travel and logistical costs, etc. An estimated remaining budget of USD 5 million from the Tokyo 2020 postponement subsidy will therefore be used to create a new Beijing subsidy programme covering NOCs’ Beijing 2022 Games-related costs associated with the pandemic.

IOC Subsidies for Participation in the Olympic Games is one of the many programmes run by Olympic Solidarity. It is aimed at helping the NOC teams to take part in the Olympic Games. The subsidies cover the travel expenses and accommodation costs incurred prior to the Games, and contribute to the travel expenses for athletes, team officials and NOC officials during the Games. They also cover NOCs’ Games-related operational expenses.

Ongoing support for refugee athletes

During its meeting, the Commission also approved the proposal to allow the Olympic Refuge Foundation to access all Olympic Solidarity world programmes, in order to strengthen support to refugee athletes from grassroots to elite, including their entourage, between editions of the Games.

In accordance with Recommendation 11 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5, it was agreed that the Olympic Refuge Foundation would continue to support the Refugee Olympic Team, which competed for the second time in Tokyo, as well as ensuring that refugee communities across the world can have access to safe sport and its benefits.