140th IOC Session in Mumbai to be held from October 15-17
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced that the 140th IOC Session will be held in Mumbai on October 15, 16 and 17. Prior to the session, an executive board meeting will be held on October 12 while the opening ceremony is scheduled for October 14.
The session will start exactly a week after the Asian Games in Hangzhou end. It maybe mentioned here that India has shown an interest in bidding for the hosting rights of the Olympics in 2036.
The decision to pick India as hosts of the session was made last year in Beijing and it’s going be the first IOC Session in India after the 86th edition, which took place in New Delhi in 1983.
The 140th IOC Session in the Indian city of Mumbai will be held on 15, 16 and 17 October 2023, with the Opening Ceremony on 14 October.⬇️https://t.co/iB6Cuxg7n8
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 6, 2023
The IOC are presently coping with controversy after it set out a path in January for Russian and Belarusian athletes to earn Olympic 2024 places through Asian qualifying events and to compete as neutrals, with no flags or anthems.
Athletes from those countries were banned from many international competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but some international federations are now allowing them back following the IOC’s guidance.
Ukraine and its Eastern European and Baltic neighbours are leading the call for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned from Paris 2024 as long as Russia’s troops maintain their invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”. Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion.
In February, more than 30 countries including the United States, Britain and France pledged their support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions. Ukraine has also threatened to boycott the Olympics over Russia’s participation.