MUMBAI: With just a couple of days left for the International Olympic Committee Executive Board meeting followed by the 141st IOC Session, the Bandra-Kurla Complex here is quietly warming up to the event. There are a few temporary structures within the vicinity that’s getting final touches. The accreditation counter is active in a plush hotel lobby with two genial officials helping whosoever approaches them.
The royalty of the International Olympic Committee – the executive board along with its president Thomas Bach have already landed. During a discussion with select media, the IOC president talked about the perils of global warming, how it is threatening the existence of Winter Olympics and how it could even lead to altering dates of the Summer Olympics.
“The climate change has already had an effect on the sport and in particular the winter sports, where the lack of snow is already leading to shifting sports indoors.” There are two ways and in the end they are complementary. One is whether to look into the scheduling for instance.
Whether in the long term we can take the Olympic Games to August. I doubt it. If we move then the whole calendar of other sports (athletics, Grand Slams, ATPs) will get affected. It will be a nightmare,” he said, adding that two host commissions were formed to look into this.
“Now we have one commission which is dealing with the future host of Summer Games and the other Winter Games.” He said these were formed some three-four years ago to see whether it is sufficient to change the sports calendar or whether it must be complemented by a stronger move. That is to move certain sports indoors.
“Our focus should be on the Winter Games because there we are really impacted already. We have statistics which say that if the warming on the earth continues even at a slower pace than it was warming, by 2050 we will have lost 50 per cent of all the winter sport destinations which could organize the Olympic Games.”
The IOC chief did notice India’s rise at the Asian Games and alluded to the 107 medals it won. On India’s potential bid for the 2036 Olympics, he said that he could only say about it when the bid is presented.