The Varna Congress It was announced at the IOC Session at Mexico in 1968 that an Olympic Congress would be held at Varna (Bulgaria) from 1st to 4th October 1973. In order to be better equipped to take part in this congress or follow its progress we are giving here the answers to questions you might ask in this connection. The Varna Congress will be the tenth since the Paris Congress of 1894 which decided to revive the Olympic Games. The last one was held in Berlin in 1930 and was devoted to Olympic rules. WHY CONVENE THE OLYMPIC CONGRESS? WHAT IS THE OLYMPIC CONGRESS? Several times in the "Olympic Review" (1), and in the special edition "Olympism", we have discussed the roots and composition of the congresses: "the congress constitutes a forum where the three agents of the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee, the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations, can discuss, directly exchange opinions and make their remarks and their criticisms." It is convened by the International Olympic Committee to sort out various questions, and is composed of members of the International Olympic Committee and delegates from the International Federations and National Olympic Committees. (1) See Nos. 6/7, 11, 15, 32, 43, 49. 414 Was it necessary, after forty years, to convene the congress? The International Federations, at the instigation of Roger COULON, the then President of the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Amateurs, put this question to Mr. Avery BRUNDAGE in 1967. Mr. BRUNDAGE replied that two equally valid attitudes could be adopted towards the congress: 1/ to make a social event out of it, so that those who work for the Olympic Movement may get to know each other better outside the Olympic Games, where each of them has overwhelming duties, 2/ to organise study sessions where motions could be submitted to the International Olympic Committee without recourse to voting. Thanks to this large-scale consultation, the International Olympic Committee would be able to fix a plan for the "Olympic Games of the year 2000".
The first idea was soon discarded as it had the disadvantage of causing the participants enormous expense, with no positive compensation. The second was adopted at the outset as it corresponded to the wishes of everybody. It also coincided with Coubertin's way of thinking, since the Reviver of the Games specified in the first International Olympic Committee rules, which he wrote in his own hand: "The Committee intends... to create or organise every demonstration and generally to take every measure necessary to guide modern athletics along the desired path." (see below) Mr. Avery BRUNDAGE asked Lord KILLANIN, at that time Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee and an ardent supporter of permanent open discussion with the International Federations and National Olympic Committees, to take the presidency of a tripartite commission to decide the methods of organising the congress, composed as follows: three members of the International Olympic Committee: Lord KILLANIN, Comte de BEAUMONT and Jonkheer van KARNEBEEK three members of the International Federations: Mr. Thomas KELLER, Sir Stanley ROUS and Colonel RUSSELL 415
three members of the National Olympic Committees: Mr. Giulio ONESTI, Mr. Constantine ANDRIANOV, General ADEFOPE. General STOYTCHEV, member of the International Olympic Committee for Bulgaria, straight away proposed Sofia as the seat of the congress, and very soon became a member of the commission. Consequently Varna, the most suitable place for a meeting of this size, was definitely chosen to be the seat of the congress. WHAT WILL THIS 10th CONGRESS BE LIKE? The participants are given three discussion themes under the general title "The Olympic Movement and its Future": l/ re-definition of the Olympic Movement and its future 2/ relations between the International Olympic Committee, the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees 3/ the pattern of future Olympic Games and the consequences. The President of the IOC, Lord KILLANIN, will give a general exposé the first day on his plans for the seven years of his present term of office which began on 12th September 1972. This will be followed by two speeches by representatives of the International Federations and National Olympic Committees. On the second day Mr. Thomas KELLER, on behalf of the International Federations, will open the debate on the second theme, and the third day Mr. Giulio ONESTI will speak on behalf of the National Olympic Committees. After the intervention of each group's representative, the congress will study the theme chosen for the day, first of all developed by the speakers chosen by each group, and then thrown open to discussion among all the members. Thanks to the constitution of subcommittees, it is envisaged to study individually the different themes. The speakers for each group have been chosen as follows: for the International Olympic Committee: Comte de BEAUMONT Mr. van KARNEBEEK Mr. Willi DAUME, all three Vice-Presidents of the IOC, for the International Federations: Mr. Thomas KELLER (FISA) Sir Stanley ROUS (FIFA) Mr. Pierre FERRI (FIE) Colonel RUSSELL (FIBA) may be called as a reserve speaker, 416
for the National Olympic Committees: Mr. Trendafil MARTINSKI (Bulgarie) Mr. A. de O. SALES (Hong- Kong) Mr. Marcello GARRONI (Italy). The presidency of the congress as a whole remains the prerogative of the President of the International Olympic Committee, while the daily presidencies will be taken by the three parties in turn. The conclusions of the congress will be in the form of wishes and suggestions made to the IOC, and not rigid decisions put to the vote. PREPARATION OF THE CONGRESS The congress is being prepared in two ways: - the Bulgarian Olympic Committee is taking care of the reception preparations - the tripartite commission has for the past two years been looking after the technical and administrative preparations. Regulations of the Olympic Congress have been established, which you can read on the following pages. This is also the case of the general lines of the chosen themes, which are only given here as an indication since they will be studied in depth at a later date. STUDY GROUP The tripartite commission selected a study group, composed of Lord KILLANIN, President of the International Olympic Committee, Colonel RUSSELL, President of the Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur and representing the International Federations, Mr. Giulio ONESTI, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee and representing the National Olympic Committees, and Mrs. Monique BERLIOUX, Director of the International Olympic Committee, to go to Bulgaria on 7th and 8th October at the invitation of General STOYTCHEV, President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. The delegation was welcomed and received by the country's highest officials: - Mr. Pentcho KOUBADINSKI, Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and President of the Bulgarian Organising Committee - General Vladimir STOYTCHEV, President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee - Mr. Trendafil MARTINSKI, President of the Central Council of the Bulgarian Physical Culture and Sports Union - Mr. St. YONEV, Mayor of Varna - Mr. A. SOLAKOV, Vice President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee 417
- Mr. N. ANDONOV, Secretary General of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee - Mrs. Nadia LEKARSKA - Mr. Nicolas GUEORGUIEV. The group's programme included visits to the places where the congress and the specialised commissions will take place and the hotels where the delegates will stay, as well as a business meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. This information can be found under the heading "Welcome to Varna". On 9th October President KILLANIN held a brilliant press conference at Sofia with sports journalists and representatives of the Bulgarian general news organs and news agencies. WELCOME TO VARNA LOCATION Varna (Bulgaria) is a seaside resort on the shores of the Black Sea with 17,700 inhabitants. It enjoys a privileged climate in spite of its high latitude. Set in a verdant background, the town welcomes a large number of tourists all the year round and consequently has a flourishing hotel and tourist trade. Varna: The Open-Air Theatre. 418
DATES 28th September Arrival of participants 29th September Meetings of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, International Federations and National Olympic Committees. THE EMBLEM OF THE CONGRESS The Bulgarian Olympic Committee has decided to represent the Olympic rings with a stylised seagull symbolising the venue, and the inscription "Olympic Congress - Varna 1973. Sport for a world of peace." This emblem will be found on all the material at the congress. 30th September Official Opening of the congress and the Session, with the THE CONGRESS HALL celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Bulgarian The congress will be held Olympic Committee. in the Varna Palace of Culture and Sports. This circular 1st to 4th October building was finished in 1968. Congress (from 09.00 to 14.00 hrs). Various meetings from 17.00 hrs (IOC Executive Board, IF or NOC). 3rd October at 17.00 hrs Meeting of the Tripartite Commission. 5th October Beginning of the 74th Session of the IOC at the International Hotel (Golden Sands). REGISTRATION A notice will be sent in February 1973 and preliminary registrations should be returned by the end of March. Final registrations will be accepted until 14th July 1973. A deposit of 200 Swiss Francs, or the equivalent, should accompany the registration. 419
Varna: General view. The Palace for the Congress. The congress hall can accommodate 4-5000 people and was designed to give faultless vision and acoustics. It will also house the offices of the President of the International Olympic Committee, the Directors and secretariat of the International Olympic Committee, International Federation and National Olympic Committee coordinating groups, and work rooms. This unrivalled centre is completed by a conference room capable of holding 200 people, a press centre equipped with 20 telephone lines and ten telex machines, photographic laboratories, and a reception room for 60 people. Exhibition hall in the Congress Palace An exhibition on sport in Bulgaria will be held in the exhibition hall, and will give the Organising Committees of the XXIst Olympic Games at Montreal and the XIIth Winter Games an opportunity of presenting their plans and giving details on the progress of their work. THE INTERNATIONAL HOME OF SCIENTISTS "JOLIOT CURIE" The International Federations and National Olympic Committees will hold their own meetings at the International Home of Scientists "Joliot Curie", where they will have four rooms holding between 50 and 300 people. INTERNATIONAL HOTEL (GOLDEN SANDS) Rooms at the International Hotel are available for meetings of the IOC Executive Board and any possible meetings of the Tripartite Commission for 420
the Preparation of the Olympic Congress. A room will also be available for cinema projection. TARIFFS 65.-- Swiss Francs (17 dollars) per day for a single room (bed, breakfast and one meal) l04.-- Swiss Francs (28 dollars) per day for a double room (bed, breakfast and one meal). Coupons will be issued for meals. REGULATIONS OF THE OLYMPIC CONGRESS 1/ Convocation In accordance with the decision taken at the 68th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Mexico, 1968, an Olympic Congress will be convened by the International Olympic Committee to be held at Varna (Bulgaria) from 30th September (date of the Opening Ceremony) to 4th October 1973. Hotel International (Golden Sands) ACCOMMODATION The congress participants will stay in six hotels at Golden Sands, a town about ten miles away from Varna. It is a holiday resort, famous for its beach which is one of the most renowned on the Black Sea. 2/ Composition The congress is made up of a) members of the International Olympic Committee b) delegates from the International Sports Federations (three per IF) c) delegates from the National Olympic Committees (three per NOC) 3/ Participants 3 delegates per IF 3 delegates per NOC 421
1 delegate per recognised IF whose sport does not figure on the Olympic programme 1 delegate from the Comité Pierre de Coubertin 1 delegate from AIPS about 10 delegates from Organising Committees accredited journalists about 10 Olympic champions invited by the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. 4/ Accreditations Delegates from the IFS and NOCs will only be admitted to participate in the Congress on the authority of a delegation signed by the President and/or the Secretary General of the organisation they represent. The International Sports Federations offices will nominate their delegates. The NOC delegates must: a) be resident in the country they represent b) hold the nationality of the country they represent c) be members of the NOC. One of these three delegates may be replaced by a member of the country's most representative sports organisation. Invitations to journalists will be passed through their respective NOC. One representative of the Press and Public Relations office of the IFS will be accredited as well. Representatives of the five international agencies will be accredited directly by the IOC. The delegations will be verified by a special commission formed by the Tripartite Commission for the organisation of the Congress, whose five representatives are specially nominated for this by the three organisms concerned. No delegate may be nominated after 14th July 1973. 5/ Agenda The International Olympic Committee will establish the agenda of the Congress after consultation with the Tripartite Commission. The agenda will be established six months before the opening of the congress and sent to all the participants at least four months before. 6/ Deliberations The President of the International Olympic Committee, assisted by an IF and NOC member will preside over the Congress. An exposé not exceeding 30 minutes will be given by a representative of each of the organisms concerned. The other delegates will have the opportunity of intervening after registering themselves beforehand. Each of these interventions must not exceed 10 minutes. It will not be possible to intervene twice on the same subject. 422
Debates will not be sanctioned by votes. The fourth day will be devoted to presenting the conclusions, and the President will give a resumé of the debates. 7/ Secretariat The Director of the International Olympic Committee, Mrs. Monique BERLIOUX, will take charge of the Secretariat of the congress (general secretariat), helped by the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. 8/ Languages The languages used will be the official languages of the International Olympic Committee, French, English, Spanish, Russian, Bulgarian (language of the host country), and German. 9/ Practical Settlement All material and protocol problems will be settled in accordance with the "Instructions for the International Olympic Committee Sessions", modified according to the circumstances. l0/ Report The printed report, containing the complete speeches and interventions during the four days, will be made in the four official languages and published within one year. Any dispute concerning this report will be examined by the Tripartite Commission. 423