IOC President to attend The World Games Opening Ceremony
Dr. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, has confirmed that he will be present at The World Games Opening Ceremony in Wroclaw on 20th July 2017. In his letter to IWGA President José Perurena, the IOC President states that he will also attend several sports events during his stay.
After receiving President Bach’s letter, IWGA President Perurena said: “I want to thank IOC President Dr. Thomas Bach for his enormous support for The World Games, and I am delighted that he has accepted my invitation to join us in Wroclaw. The IOC will also be sending a much bigger delegation to TWG 2017 than we have seen in the past. Experts from the IOC Sports Department will support us with their observations on how individual sports perform, and on the Games as a whole. This means that we have to deliver an outstanding event. We want to prove that our sports are on the same level as those on the Olympic programme.”
Last year the IOC and the IWGA signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which underlined closer cooperation between the parties. The Memorandum stated: “the IOC recognises the importance of The World Games as a multi-sport event” and “The IOC will provide its expertise when needed and maintain its cooperation with the IWGA through its Sports Department, and will help to promote the IWGA’s activities within the Olympic Movement.”
It will not be the first time that Dr. Bach attends an Opening Ceremony of The World Games. He was also present at the opening of The World Games 2013 in Cali/Colombia, together with Jacques Rogge, his predecessor in office. Thomas Bach was Vice President of the IOC at that time.
The World Games 2017 take place from 20th to 30th July in Wroclaw, Poland with 27 sports on the official program and four sports on the invitational program.
