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India on Saturday officially won the bid to host the 2023 International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai. On the sidelines of the Winter Olympic Games in China, 75 members gave their consent while six abstained from voting. One of the members didn’t vote.
Mumbai was the only city that had bid for the IOC Session, and Saturday's vote was an official confirmation.
The last time India hosted an IOC Session was in New Delhi in 1983. India thus ended a long wait of almost 40 years to get another opportunity.
India’s IOC member Nita Ambani has welcomed the decision as a significant development for India’s Olympic aspirations, calling it "a new era for Indian sports."
“The Olympic Movement is back in India after a 40-year wait," Nita, who was elected IOC member at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, said. "I’m truly grateful to the IOC for entrusting India with the honor of hosting the next IOC Session in Mumbai.
"We are one of the youngest countries in the world," she added. "I’m excited for the youth of India to embrace and experience first-hand the magic of the Olympics. The IOC Session will herald the start of a new era for Indian sports.”
The IOC session is the annual meeting of the members of the body, comprising 101 voting members and 45 honorary members.
The main agenda during the IOC Session includes key activities of the global Olympic movement, adoption and amendment of the Olympic Charter. The election of IOC members and allotment of the next Olympic Games are other important issues that will be discussed during the 2023 IOC Session.
An Indian delegation comprising India’s IOC member, Narinder Batra, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and India’s first individual Olympic champion, Abhinav Bindra, gave a virtual presentation at the IOC Session in Beijing.
“This is the start of a new era for Indian sports – an era that features the long-term goal of hosting the Olympic Games in India,” Batra said. “India is on an exciting journey and we want the Olympic Movement to play a central part in building a brighter future for our next generation.”
The 2023 IOC Session will be hosted at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai.
