The IOC Executive Board (EB) held its firstmeeting of 2011 in Lausanne. The EBkicked off its two-day meeting byconvening with the IOC Athletes'Commission. Topics on the agendaincluded the promising development of the IOC Athlete Career Programme -which has so far involved 6,800 athletesfrom 27 National Olympic Committees(NOC); the fight against doping; thesuccess of the first Youth Olympic Games(YOG) last August in Singapore; and the5th International Athletes' Forum, whichwill take place in Colorado Springs, USA in October. The EB and the athletes'representatives also exchanged theirviews on the Entourage Commission,which was recently established based onthe recommendation of the 2009 OlympicCongress and met for the first time inDecember. The Commission is tasked withaddressing matters related to managingall aspects of an athlete's career, whichincludes those related to coaches,managers, parents and sponsors.The EB also agreed on a timeline forthe bidding process for the 2020 OlympicGames, which the IOC distributed to allNOCs at the end of January. The NOCshave until 1 September 2011 to submitthe name of an applicant city, and thesecities will then be required to submit theirapplication files and guarantee letters tothe IOC by 15 February 2012. Theelection of the Host City of the 2020Olympic Games will be made on 7September 2013 during the 125th IOCSession in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Finally, Spanish Ambassador andSecretary General of the Union LatineJose Luis Dicenta Ballester was appointedfor a four-year term as a member of theEthics Commission, replacing former UNSecretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar.EXECUTIVEBOARDHOLDSFIRST2011MEETINGIOC AWARDS BROADCAST RIGHTSIN CUBA FOR LONDON2012 OLYMPIC GAMESThe IOC has awarded free-to-air television andradio broadcast rights in Cuba for the London2012 Olympic Games to the Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión (ICRT).IOC President Jacques Rogge said: "Cuba hasa strong Olympic tradition, and over the yearsCuban athletes have achieved incredible feats atthe Olympic Games. We look forward to continuingour partnership with the ICRT to make the London2012 Olympic Games available on free televisionand radio to sports fans in Cuba."IOC Executive Board member Richard Carrión- who led negotiations - said: "I am delighted wewere able to continue our partnership with ICRTand would like to thank them for their cooperationin making this announcement possible."President of ICRT Danylo Sirio said: "Thebroadcast of the Olympic Games in Cuba is greatlyenjoyed by our hard working people. We arepleased with this agreement with the InternationalOlympic Committee, and we will continue to worktogether for the benefit of sports."BelowCuban sports fans will be able to enjoycoverage of the 2012 Games in London OLYMPIC REVIEW15IOCANDUNHOSTCONFERENCECANDIDATECITIES SUBMITFILESThe second edition of the InternationalForum on Sport, Peace and Developmentwill take place at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Geneva(Switzerland) from 10 to 11 May 2011.Co-organised by the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC) and the Officeof the Special Advisor to the UNSecretary General on Sport forDevelopment and Peace, the event willoffer the opportunity to review policiesand practices in this field, strengthen thecooperation between the various entities,and agree on future action.The recommendations given duringlast year's forum will also be followed up.Strong focus will be placed on how sportis contributing to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) -whichaddress the world's most pressing issuesand require the support of everyone.As the leader of the OlympicMovement, the IOC strives to act as acatalyst for collaboration with theultimate objective of making the world abetter and more peaceful place throughsport. By using sport as a tool, the IOCand its partners implement variousactivities across the globe in fields suchas humanitarian assistance, peace-building, education, gender equality, theenvironment and the fight againstHIV/AIDS, hence contributing to theachievement of the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals. The decision in2009 to grant the IOC UN observerstatus pays tribute to these efforts and isa sign of the strong bonds between theIOC and the UN. The IOC said that it has received theCandidature Files of the three CandidateCities bidding to host the 2018 OlympicWinter Games. Munich (Germany), Annecy(France) and PyeongChang (South Korea)*all delivered their files by the deadline of11 January 2011.The IOC Evaluation Commission,chaired by IOC member Gunilla Lindberg,analysed the Candidature Files and made site inspections as follows:?Annecy: 9 to 12 February?PyeongChang: 16 to 19 February?Munich: 1 to 4 MarchThe Commission will then prepare areport that will be published to coincidewith the 2018 Briefing for IOC Members,which will take place in Lausanne on 18 and 19 May 2011. The election of theHost City will take place on 6 July duringthe 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. Please note that the IOC willnot release the Candidature Files, but hasinformed the Candidate Cities that theycan make their files public and post themon their websites if they so wish. * Citiesare listed in the order of drawing of lots.

16OLYMPIC REVIEWThe Vancouver 2010 OrganisingCommittee (VANOC) announced that it hadachieved a balanced budget and alsoreleased its final sustainability report,which shows that the 2010 Winter Gameswere more than just "green". VANOCdecided to look at areas beyond theenvironment pillar in order to deliver manyother legacies from its Games, both locallyand globally. As a result, VANOC's workalso covered social and economicopportunities that have produced lastingbenefits for the host region.IOC Executive Director for the OlympicGames Gilbert Felli commented onVANOC's work: "For nearly two decades,the IOC has been encouraging andworking with the Olympic Movement toimprove the sustainability of sport. Witheach edition of the Games, we take newstrides forward, and VANOC hasundoubtedly raised the bar once again.Vancouver 2010 showed that the Gamesand sport can be truly sustainable andleave great legacies to the hostcommunity. We are confident thatVANOC's work will leave a solid foundationfrom which future Organising Committeescan build upon. Congratulations to thewhole VANOC team for a job well done."As part of its legacy for futureorganising committees, VANOC created anew sustainability governance model forlarge sports event organisations, reportingframeworks and a sustainable sportsevent tool kit for mega sports events. Italso demonstrated how a venueprogramme can be designed for legacyuse and built to minimise environmentalimpact; how partnerships with aboriginalpeople can make a Games stronger; howsocially and economically disadvantagedgroups can participate in and benefit fromthe Games; and how greenhouse gasemissions can be reduced.BelowThe report shows how theOlympic Games can leave lasting andsustainable legacies for host regionsThe London 2012 Organising Committee(LOCOG) has unveiled the full sportscompetition schedule for the 2012Games. The schedule covers the 19 days of sporting competition andincludes the times and venues for over640 sessions, across more than 300events, in the 39 disciplines of the 26sports on show next year. The announcement came one month beforeticket sales began for the LondonGames, giving fans wanting to attend the opportunity to explore different possibilities and decide which eventsthey want to see.The schedule, which was approvedby the IOC and the 26 differentInternational Federations, will now allowfans and athletes alike to start fine tuning their preparations for the Games.Sebastian Coe, LOCOG's Chairman, commented: "Publishing the Olympicsports competition schedule means that everyone - athletes, coaches, spectators,broadcasters and everybody who wantsto be part of London 2012 - can nowstart planning their Games. "The world's greatest athletes inevery one of the 26 Olympic sports arenow honing their preparation to a specific point of time on a specific datein July and August 2012." A total of 6.6 million tickets will beon sale to the public from 15 March to26 April 2011. Fans from outside the UKshould contact their National OlympicCommittee to find out about buying tickets. For more information visitwww.london2012.comVANOCRELEASESFINALSUSTAINABILITYREPORTLONDON2012SPORTS SCHEDULEUNVEILEDWORLDWIDE TOPPARTNER GEDONATES TO LONDON2012 HOSPITAL British Olympic gold medallist DeniseLewis opened a new state of the art£12.5 million Maternity and NewbornCentre, featuring £4.8 million worth of equipmentdonated by Worldwide TOP Partner GE, atHomerton Hospital in east London. GE hasdelivered a range of equipment to the unit that willprovide clinicians with some of the very latest,most advanced technology to improve patientoutcomes. This includes a £1 million MRI scanner,new advanced technology high-resolutionultrasound units, foetal monitoring systems,neonatal x-ray units, and top-of-the-range Giraffeincubators complete with radiant warmers andphototherapy lights which help to reduce theamount of unnecessary handling of very lowweight premature babies.Commenting at the official opening of the unitPeter Foss, President Olympic Sponsorship andCorporate Sales, GE, said: "As a partner of London2012 and a significant UK employer, GE iscommitted to helping London deliver a sustainablelegacy. We decided to make this donation toHomerton Hospital because it is one of thedesignated London 2012 hospitals. We chose tofocus on Maternal and Newborn care to address amajor local issue - infant mortality. We hope this will help to create a brighter future for the people of east London for generations to come." Lewis added: "As a mother and an Olympian, I think it is great to see such an investment in theimprovement of maternal and infant care. This willbe a great legacy for the people of east London."BelowDenise Lewis with some of the newmaternity equipment at Homerton Hospital