| Venue | Varna (BUL) |
|---|---|
| Held | 30 September – 4 October 1973 |
From 1930 to 1973 no Olympic Congress was conducted. It should be noted that the Olympic Charter at this time did not mandate that they should be held, as it would later. There were a number of reasons for the gap.
One is that the NOCs never requested an Olympic Congress prior to World War II. With the outbreak of War, and the recovery in the late 40s / early 50s, the Olympic Movement was placed somewhat on hold. In addition, after World War II, the IOC seemed more willing to meet regularly with the NOCs and IFs. In 1946 the IOC Executive Board met with representatives of 20 IFs in Lausanne, and this became a regular meeting. It occurred in 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951, and now usually occurs annually. Similarly, in 1952 the IOC Executive Board began a series of regular meetings with the NOCs. Thus, there seemed less need to involve the NOCs and IFs via a formal Olympic Congress.
There were also thoughts that the new IOC President, Avery Brundage, simply did not want to hold an Olympic Congress. However, in 1968, Brundage noted that the NOCs and IFs were clamoring for another Congress, and he scheduled one for 1971 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It had to be delayed, however, and did not occur during his Presidency. Brundage is the only IOC President who never presided over an Olympic Congress during his term of office.
The 1971 Sofia Congress was moved to the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Varna, and was held at the Sports Palace in Varna from 30 September to 4 October 1973. The theme was the “Future of the Olympic Movement.” It was attended by 307 delegates, from the IOC, NOCs, and IFs, and about 50 observers. The IOC had formed a new commission, the Tripartite Commission, representing the three arms of the Olympic Movement, the IOC, NOCs, and IFs, and the Tripartite Commission was responsible for the organization of the Congress. The Tripartite Commission was chaired by Lord Killanin, who had succeeded to IOC President at the end of the 1972 Munich Olympics.
There were three working days at the Congress and each of them was devoted to a specific topic. The first day (1 October) saw discussion of the “Redefinition of the Olympic Movement and its Future.” On the second day the Congress discussed “Relations between the IOC, IFs, and NOCs.” The final working day was devoted to a discussion of “Plans for Future Olympic Games.”
The Varna Olympic Congress issued a final statement which reached the following basic conclusions:
The Tripartite Commission should become a permanent IOC committee chaired by the IOC President.
Olympic Congresses should be held at regular intervals in the future, but should not interfere with the meetings of the IOC Executive Board with the IFs and NOCs.
The IOC eligibility rules should be brought up to date.
The IOC should have joint commissions of a tripartite or bipartite nature.
The IOC, the IFs and NOCs should include women in administrative positions.
The three bodies should explore how they can have closer contact with athletes.
The assistance of governments should be encouraged in the development of sport in their countries.
The speeches made at the congress were of inestimable value to ¬the Olympic Movement and should be studied closely.
All National Olympic Committees should take active steps to protect the Olympic emblems in their countries if this has not been done.
The initiation of the Olympic Solidarity program for the benefit of the National Olympic Committees is very welcome.
The Olympic Games and Movement have a permanent and important sporting and social task.
The congress was a demonstration of goodwill and striving for co-operation by all the concerned organizations in the name of the motto “Sport for a world of peace.”
A few years after Varna, following the second suggestion above, the IOC placed a statement in the 1977 version of the Olympic Charter, requiring the regular meeting of Olympic Congresses.