The future of the Olympics

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 27 March 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We're in Greece to find out what challenges await the new IOC president Kirsty Coventry - the first woman and first African to hold the most powerful role in sport.

The IOC faces several challenges, including the issue of paying prize money to athletes, finding a host for the 2036 Summer games and climate change.

There are also questions around the future of boxing as an Olympic sport and securing future revenues with NBC's multi-billion dollar deal due to expire after the Brisbane games in 2032 and other sponsorship deals up for renewal.

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Presented and produced by Alex Capstick

(Image: Kirsty Coventry reacts as she delivers a speech after being elected as the new IOC President on Day Two of the 144th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session on March 20, 2025 in Costa Navarino, Greece. Credit: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily on the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Capstick and today we're in
0:08.2	Greece where a new president has just been elected to take on the most powerful role in sport,
0:14.5	head of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC. It's a huge honour. I never realized when I was nine years old, making that
0:23.1	dream for myself of going to the Olympic Games and winning a gold medal that it would lead
0:27.7	my life to this point. The first woman and first African to be IOC president, Kirsty Coventry,
0:34.9	takes over at a pivotal moment for the Olympics.
0:38.3	There are daunting challenges ahead.
0:40.3	The president must tread a path through a rocky geopolitical landscape
0:43.9	while figuring out the best way to protect and grow the IOC's revenues
0:49.0	while keeping the sponsors and broadcasters happy.
0:52.7	Everything has changed.
0:54.0	Buying habits have changed, consumer. Buying habits have changed.
0:55.3	Consumer, media consumption habits have changed.
0:58.6	So just saying that you're the official hamburger of the Olympic Games is no longer enough.
1:04.4	There's pressure to make the Olympics more relevant to a younger audience
1:08.0	and to take the games to new markets.
1:11.2	There are cities that want to host the Olympics.
1:13.8	It's whether they're the kind of cities that are acceptable to the IOC.
1:17.9	The Middle Eastern countries are desperate to host the Olympics.
1:20.7	So, what next for the Olympics?
1:23.2	That's all coming up on today's program.
1:38.3	Yeah. That's all coming up on today's program. We're in Greece at the ancient ruins of Olympia, home of the Olympic Games,
	...

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