EVENT : UNVEILING THE EMBLEM OF THE 117TH IOC SESSION
DATE : 14 MAY 2004
VENUE : SWISSOTEL THE STAMFORD, RAFFLES CITY CONVENTION CENTRE

SINGAPORE WILL HOST IOC MEETING By Lynn Koh

Major League
Big names, big money, big decisions. All these will be the order of the day when Singapore holds the 117th Session of the International Olympic Committee in July next year to the tune of $2.1 millionWhile here, some 120 IOC members will decide the city to host the 2012 Olympics and the 28 sports to be contested in future Games.

Happy Mr Ng
Expected to give Singapore tourism a $40-million boost, the meeting will bring together some 5,000 visitors, including politicians , athletes, bidders, lobbyists, supporters and journalists. It is little wonder that all this makes Mr Ng Ser Miang, president of the organising committee who unveiled the 117th Session's emblem recently at the Swissotel, a very happy man.

Big Gains
"It will be the next best thing to the Olympics," said he said when the 117th Session's emblem was unveiled at the Swissotel recently. "Not only does the Singapore Tourism Board estimate the contribution to be about $40 million, but Singapore will also gain, according to IOC estimates, a worldwide television audience of about three billion people from over 200 countries watching the Session live or delayed," he explained.

A Boost To Sports Industry
Equally excited was Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, the Minister of Community Development and Sports. He told the media, "This is a major conference. This is just the type of event we are looking for in a two-pronged attack to create a sports industry - definitely in the right direction."

High Stakes
In all, nine cities are bidding for the 2012 Games. They are Havana (Cuba), Istanbul (Turkey), Leipzig (Germany), London (Britain), Madrid (Spain), Moscow (Russia), New York (USA), Paris (France) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The stakes are high. For the winner, for example, theTV rights paid by NBC alone can amount to about S$1.36 billion. So expect plenty of action when the bidders and their entourage of marketing men, lobbyists and global personalities gather at the Raffles City Convention Centre in July 2005.

Major Sports Event
Meanwhile, spports fans here can expect some top-class action next year. This is because a major sports event is being lined up among the activities that will coincide with the 117th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Singapore. Said Mr Ng, "We're looking into the possibility of organising such an event..... It could a golf event or tennis. It has to be something that is popular and enjoyed by Singaporeans."