The IOC President is in town. Thomas Bach is visiting The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday and Wednesday. The IOC President will watch several sports competitions during his visit. He will also take the opportunity to exchange views with the presidents of the International Sports Federations during a joint breakfast. Upon arrival at the airport, IWGA President José Perurena together with the Mayor of Birmingham, Randall Woodfin, and Nick Sellers, CEO of the Birmingham Organizing Committee, will welcome the IOC President.
Thomas Bach knows The World Games very well. He visited the multi-sport event in 2013 in Cali, Colombia, then as IOC Vice President, and in 2017 in Wroclaw, where he personally opened the tenth edition of the event. "The World Games celebrate the diversity of sport," Bach said on that occasion.
At the breakfast with the International Federations on Tuesday morning, IWGA President José Perurena emphasized the close connection between the IWGA family and the Olympic family. He pointed out that The World Games are specifically mentioned in the Olympic Agenda 2020+5.
In 2016, the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Lausanne laid the foundation for further close cooperation. Part of this cooperation is that the Olympic Channel will stream The World Games competitions world-wide. In addition, IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell is present as a guest observer at the Games in Birmingham.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.