| Venue | Paris (FRA) |
|---|---|
| Held | 16 – 24 June 1894 |
The 1st Olympic Congress is considered by the IOC to have been the 1894 Sorbonne Congress at which Pierre, Baron de Coubertin was able to convince the delegates to re-establish the Olympic Games. This is also considered the 1st IOC Session.
The 1st Olympic Congress took place on 16-24 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. There were 78 delegates present, representing 37 sports federations from nine nations (Belgium, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and the United States). The Honorary President of the Congress was Alphonse Chodron, Baron de Courcel, at the time the French ambassador to Great Britain. Coubertin led the Organizing Committee of the Congress but the President of the Congress was Viscount François Louis Léon de Janzé, who was President of the group responsible for the Congress, which was the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athletiques (USFSA), of which Coubertin was the Secretary-General.
The Congress dealt with two main issues, specified in a 10-point agenda developed by Coubertin. The first seven points dealt with amateurism in sports, while the last three points dealt with the possibility of re-establishing the Olympic Games. There were two working groups at the Congress, one devoted to each topic, with M. Gondinet chairing the commission on amateurism, and Demetrios Vikelas chairing the commission on the Olympic Games. It is considered that Coubertin’s main focus was to re-establish the Olympic Games and that he used the amateur issue, a popular topic at the time, as a smokescreen to lure delegates to Paris. He was successful.
The Congress produced a 14-point declaration at the end of the Congress. It was equally divided, with seven-points dealing with the issue of amateurism, which was defined very strictly. The last seven points discussed the re-establishment of the Olympic Games and gave loose guidelines for them. The seven points dealing with the Olympics were given as follows (translated from the French):
VIII. There is no doubt that there exist advantages to reestablish the Olympic Games, based on athletic, moral, and international considerations, provided that they conform to modern conditions.
IX. That, except in the case of fencing, only amateurs would be allowed to compete.
X. The International Committee will be responsible for organizing the Games, and will have the right to exclude persons whose previous acts may damage the good name of the institution.
XI. No nations had the right to compete using athletes other than its own nationals. In each country, elimination events to choose their Olympic athletes should be held, so that only true champions should take part in each sport.
XII. The following sports ought to be represented, if possible: athletic sports (track & field), aquatic sports (rowing, sailing, and swimming), athletic games (football, lawn tennis, paume, etc.), skating, fencing, boxing, wrestling, equestrian sports, polo, shooting, gymnastics, and cycling. There should also be instituted a general athletic championship under the title of pentathlon. At the occasion of the Olympic Games, an alpinism prize should be awarded to the most interesting climb accomplished since the last edition of the Games.
XIII. The modern Olympic Games should take place every four years. After Athens in 1896 and Paris in 1900, they should be organized in a new city every fourth year.
XIV. As the Olympic Games can only be successfully organized with the support of governments, the International Committee should make arrangements to see that such assistance is given.
Other decisions by the Congress were to form an International Olympic Committee of 13 members, headed by a President, who was chosen to be Demetrios Vikelas of Greece, and to award the first Olympics, in 1896, to Athens, and the second Olympics, in 1900, to Paris. The founding IOC Members were taken from a list Coubertin had presented, which was approved by the members of the Congress. Vikelas was chosen as President of the IOC because Coubertin thought it was important that the President come from Greece, as they were to host the 1896 Olympics.
The founding members of the IOC, approved at the Inaugural Congress, were as follows: