Addressing world leaders during the Summit of the Future at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach thanked them wholeheartedly for including sport in the Pact for the Future. The landmark document was adopted by the 193 UN Member States on Sunday.

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the adoption of the Pact for the Future. In particular, I would like to thank you for recognising the role of sport as an important enabler – and indeed, accelerator – to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The recent Olympic Games Paris 2024 illustrate in an excellent way how the IOC is contributing to the SDGs through sport,” said the IOC President during the plenary session.

“We are ready to continue and strengthen this contribution of sport in the framework of the Pact for the Future – because this Pact perfectly reflects our Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together,” President Bach continued.

Sport is mentioned multiple times in the Pact for the Future, where, in Action 11 of the 56 Actions, the UN Member States declare: “We will protect and promote culture and sport as integral components of sustainable development.”

They continue: “We recognise that culture as well as sport offer individuals and communities a strong sense of identity and fosters social cohesion. We also recognise that sport can contribute to individuals’ and communities’ health and wellbeing. Culture as well as sport therefore are important enablers of sustainable development.”

Furthermore, the UN Member States say in the Pact: “We decide to ensure that culture as well as sport can contribute to more effective, inclusive, equitable and sustainable development, and integrate culture into economic, social and environmental development policies and strategies and ensure adequate public investment in the protection and promotion of culture.”

Sport is also mentioned in the Declaration on Future Generations, which is part of the Pact for the Future. In this document, the UN Member States commit to “invest in accessible, safe, inclusive and equitable quality education for all, including physical education and sport, and promote opportunities for lifelong learning, technical and vocational training, and digital literacy, allowing for the intergenerational acquisition and transfer of knowledge and skills to advance the prospects of future generations”.

The inclusion of sport in the Pact for the Future is another milestone in the IOC’s work with the UN, with which the IOC has the status of Permanent Observer. In 2015, in a historic moment for sport and the Olympic Movement, sport was officially recognised by the UN as an “important enabler” of sustainable development and included in the UN’s Agenda 2030.

In his speech at the Summit of the Future on Sunday, the IOC President said: “The IOC considers peace as the most fundamental of the SDGs. This is why we are very happy and proud that, despite all the geopolitical tensions, we were able to bring together the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (in Paris).”

Before highlighting other achievements of the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, he went on: “Before the Olympic Games these athletes joined for a powerful call for peace. During the Olympic Games, they competed fiercely against each other. At the same time, they lived peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village. They shared their meals, their experience and their emotions. They respected each other, with no incident or discrimination whatsoever – even if their countries are at war. With all this, the athletes created a culture of peace – showing us how our world would be, if we all were to live in the Olympic spirit of peaceful coexistence.”

Please find here the full speech by the IOC President.

Please find here the Pact for the Future including the Declaration on Future Generations.