Gender equality

Gender equality is a top priority for the Olympic Movement. The two main aims are to make access to sport in general and the Olympic Games easier for female athletes, and to increase the number of women in sports administration and management.

At the UN General Assembly in October 2015, confronted with the global refugee crisis that has seen an estimated 65.3 million people in the world displaced, IOC President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Team to take part in the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Ten months on from the announcement, 10 athletes were competing alongside 11,000 fellow athletes in Brazil, sending a message of hope and inclusion to millions of refugees around the world and inspiring the world with the strength of their human spirit.

Olympic legacy includes the long-term benefits that the Olympic Games create for the host city, its people, and the Olympic Movement before, during and long after the Olympic Games. Find out more about our strategic approach to Olympic legacy.

Olympic Solidarity redistributes the share of the broadcast rights from the Olympic Games through programmes offered to all 206 National Olympic Committees. All Olympic Solidarity’s programmes are aimed at developing and promoting sport worldwide, and encouraging athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games.

The IOC takes a proactive approach to ensure that sustainability is embedded in all aspects of organising the Olympic Games. Leaving a sustainable and positive legacy for the host city and country is a primary, achievable objective for all organisers of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Partners (TOP) programme is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, granting category-exclusive marketing rights to the Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games to a select group of global partners.