IOC's Coventry pauses 2036 Olympics hosting contest in 1st big decision of her presidency
Coventry paused the
fast tracking of a preferred bidder
— a signature policy of her predecessor and mentor Thomas Bach — in a concession to International Olympic Committee members who have wanted more say in decisions under new leadership.
'Members want to be engaged more in the process' of picking Olympic hosts, Coventry acknowledged, citing 'overwhelming support' at meetings this week to stop and review how it is done and when.
India has been seen as gaining momentum in the 2036 race that involves at least 10 bidders in talks including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Istanbul in Turkey.
In her third full day in office, Coventry promised to create two working groups — to look at how hosts are chosen, and a second analyzing how to 'protect the female category' after
controversy in women's boxing
at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The two-time Olympic champion swimmer also restated a principled vision ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in the city of Los Angeles, which U.S. President Donald Trump this month called 'a trash heap.'
'We see the best of humanity, we see compassion for others' in Olympic values, Coventry said at a news conference after chairing her first executive board meeting over two days.
'If we can celebrate in the diversity that we are, and that we have, we can really work towards creating something great,' the former sports minister of Zimbabwe said, pledging to try to inspire young people.
Olympic officials from LA met with Coventry's board Wednesday and promised a 'unity of effort' in the city where the Trump administration deployed military forces after street protests against immigration raids.
'There is so much goodwill from all levels of government,' Coventry insisted, including federal.
'That gives us faith,' she said, that a platform for the Olympics 'will be there for us to ensure that our values are stuck to but that our values will also be heard.'
___
AP Olympics:
https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ellen DeGeneres finally confirms Trump influenced her UK move: ‘We're staying here'
Ellen DeGeneres confirmed that she and wife Portia de Rossi decided to pack up and move to the UK because of President Trump's re-election win. The former talk show host, 67, detailed her new life across the pond during a conversation with British host Richard Bacon onstage in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Sunday, per the BBC. Admitting that she and the 'Arrested Development' alum, 52, initially only planned to stay in the UK for a couple of months, the pair pulled the trigger on a permanent move in November following Trump's historic win over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. 4 Ellen DeGeneres confirmed that she and wife Portia de Rossi decided to pack up and move to the UK because of President Trump's re-election win. @ellendegeneres/Instagram Following their trans-Atlantic move, the duo set up camp in the ritzy Cotswolds neighborhood, which is a known favorite among the Hollywood elite. 'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, 'He got in,'' she said. 'And we're like, 'We're staying here.'' The pair, who wed in 2008 after four years of dating, proved they were serious about uprooting their lives across the pond after buying a sprawling farmhouse in the hoity-toity area in South West England, nearly two hours from London, for an eye-popping $18 million — some $3 million over the asking price. Their new rural life includes tending to their horses, chickens and their dogs. 4 President Trump's historic win over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris took place in November 2024. AP 'It's absolutely beautiful,' the comedian said. 'We're just not used to seeing this kind of beauty. The villages and the towns and the architecture — everything you see is charming and it's just a simpler way of life.' 'It's clean,' she went on. 'Everything here is just better — the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.' DeGeneres also hinted that she and de Rossi could be looking to get married again in the UK. 'The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,' she said. 'They're trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it. Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we're going to get married here.' 4 The comedian also hinted at a possible return into showbiz, though admitted it will be differently formatted to her former eponymous talk show. BACKGRID 'I wish we were at a place where it was not scary for people to be who they are. I wish that we lived in a society where everybody could accept other people and their differences.' Elsewhere during the chat, the comedian hinted at a possible return into showbiz. 'I just don't know what that is yet,' she said of her career plans, adding that her next project will not reflect the format of her eponymous talk show. 'I want to have fun, I want to do something. I do like my chickens but I'm a little bit bored,' she added. While it appears as though the pair have taken to the English countryside lifestyle without a hitch, it's not all been smooth sailing for the duo there. Earlier this year, the couple clashed with their British neighbors over an extension at their multimillion-dollar home. 4 DeGeneres also hinted that she and de Rossi could be looking to get married again in the UK. BACKGRID Still, the hiccup didn't stop DeGeneres from selling one of her final properties in the US — prompting her to officially cut ties with her homeland. While it's not clear exactly why the pair decided on the Cotswolds, the region is a picturesque and wealthy part of England, with many British stars boasting country houses there.
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Syrian government starts evacuating Bedouin families from Sweida in bid to end weeklong clashes
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — The Syrian government on Monday started evacuating Bedouin families trapped inside the city of Sweida, where Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters have clashed for over a week. The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. The clashes also led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said some 128,571 people were displaced in the hostilities that started with a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks a week ago. Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. Syrian state media said early Sunday that the government had coordinated with some officials in Sweida to bring in buses to evacuate some 1,500 Bedouins in the city. Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told SANA that the initiative will also allow displaced civilians from Sweida to return, as the fighting has largely stopped and efforts for a complete ceasefire are ongoing. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Sweida to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the Syrian state-run news agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province." Buses filled with Bedouin families were accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. Some families left on trucks with their belongings. Syrian authorities did not give further details about the evacuation and how it ties into the broader agreement, following failed talks for a hostage swap deal Saturday. However, Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as part of the agreement, the Bedouin fighters would have to release Druze women they were holding captive, and leave the province. The Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from Sweida city Sunday, and alongside other tribesman from other parts of the country stood on the outskirts while security forces cordoned off the area. An aid convoy of some 32 Red Crescent vehicles entered the city, though a government delegation with another aid convoy was turned away. After talks for a hostage swap fell through late Sunday, the Observatory and activist groups in Sweida reported hearing what they said were Israeli airstrikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and Druze militias. The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria. Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming the factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations. The country's Druze community largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule. While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. Al-Hijri and his supporters, though, have taken a more confrontational approach with Al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures. Critics also note al-Hijri's previous allegiance to Assad. However, the numerous cases of sectarian attacks, which included killing Druze civilians and desecrating photos of religious notables, have made the Druze more skeptical of Al-Sharaa and less optimistic of peaceful coexistence. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. ——
Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Syrian government starts evacuating Bedouin families from Sweida in bid to end weeklong clashes
BUSRA AL-HARIR, Syria (AP) — The Syrian government on Monday started evacuating Bedouin families trapped inside the city of Sweida, where Druze militiamen and Bedouin fighters have clashed for over a week. The clashes between militias of the Druze religious minority and the Sunni Muslim clans killed hundreds and threatened to unravel Syria's already fragile postwar transition. The clashes also led to a series of targeted sectarian attacks against the Druze community, followed by revenge attacks against the Bedouins. The U.N. International Organization for Migration said some 128,571 people were displaced in the hostilities that started with a series of tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks a week ago. Israel also launched dozens of airstrikes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, targeting government forces who had effectively sided with the Bedouins. Syrian state media said early Sunday that the government had coordinated with some officials in Sweida to bring in buses to evacuate some 1,500 Bedouins in the city. Syrian Interior Minister Ahmad al-Dalati told SANA that the initiative will also allow displaced civilians from Sweida to return, as the fighting has largely stopped and efforts for a complete ceasefire are ongoing. 'We have imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of Sweida to keep it secure and to stop the fighting there,' al-Dalati told the Syrian state-run news agency. 'This will preserve the path that will lead to reconciliation and stability in the province.' Buses filled with Bedouin families were accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent vehicles and ambulances. Some families left on trucks with their belongings. Syrian authorities did not give further details about the evacuation and how it ties into the broader agreement, following failed talks for a hostage swap deal Saturday. However, Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that as part of the agreement, the Bedouin fighters would have to release Druze women they were holding captive, and leave the province. The Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from Sweida city Sunday, and alongside other tribesman from other parts of the country stood on the outskirts while security forces cordoned off the area. An aid convoy of some 32 Red Crescent vehicles entered the city, though a government delegation with another aid convoy was turned away. After talks for a hostage swap fell through late Sunday, the Observatory and activist groups in Sweida reported hearing what they said were Israeli airstrikes and helicopters over villages where some skirmishes took place between the Bedouins and Druze militias. The Israeli military said it was 'not aware' of any overnight strikes in Syria. Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has tried to appeal to the Druze community while slamming the factions loyal to spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who have been involved in the clashes. He promised to hold accountable perpetrators of targeted attacks and other violations. The country's Druze community largely celebrated the downfall of the Assad family that ended decades of tyrannical rule. While they had concerns about Al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule, a large number wanted to approach matters diplomatically. Al-Hijri and his supporters, though, have taken a more confrontational approach with Al-Sharaa, contrary to most other influential Druze figures. Critics also note al-Hijri's previous allegiance to Assad. However, the numerous cases of sectarian attacks, which included killing Druze civilians and desecrating photos of religious notables, have made the Druze more skeptical of Al-Sharaa and less optimistic of peaceful coexistence. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. —— Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
