El Moutawakel To Lead 2016 IOC Commission
Newly elected International Olympic Committee Executive Board member Nawal El Moutawakel has been named as the Chair on the Evaluation Commission to determine which city will host the 2016 Olympics.
The team, composed of representatives from the Olympic Movement as well as a number of advisors, will analyse the candidature files of the four bidding cities – Chicago (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Madrid (Spain) – due for submission to the IOC by 12th February 2009.
The Commission will, in addition, make on-site inspections around the second quarter of 2009 before then issuing a comprehensive technical appraisal for IOC members one month before they elect the host city on 2nd October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen.
The composition of the 9-strong Commission also includes British IOC member Craig Reedie and Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli.
Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, Nawal El Moutawakel was the first Moroccan athlete to win a gold medal. Following the end of her sporting career she became a member of the IAAF Council in 1995; Secretary of State, responsible for Youth and Sport, to the Minister of Social Affairs in Morocco in 1997 and Minister of Sports in 2007.
In taking the chair role for the 2016 Evaluation Commission, El Moutawakel is building on the experience she gained from acting as chairwoman of the Evaluation Commission of the 2012 Candidate Cities. She was elected onto the IOC Executive Board following this summer’s Beijing Olympics.
El Moutawakel was also recently named as an Ambassador for Beyond Sport, the global initiative which seeks to unearth the world’s most inspirational sport projects, people and organisations, celebrate their achievements, identify why they succeed, and use them to inspire others. Visit www.beyondsport.org for more information.
