Interview of the Luxemburger Wort with the IOC member Grand Duke Henri
Together with Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Princess Alexandra, Luxemburg's sovereign is visiting at the moment the competitions in Turin.
Earlier Grand Duke Henri, who is IOC-member since eight years , has participated at different sessions of the 118th plenary assembly of the highest Olympic group . At the edge of the couple competition in the ice skating on Saturday evening in the pretty Palavela- hall we conversed with the duke.
Monseigneur, your love to the sport is well known, in the winter you go skiing?
I like skiing, mostly with my family, the children and the Grand Duchess, skiing is fun for us.
They experienced next to the sessions of the IOC-session the inauguration, you were on a visit with different Olympic
organizations. Which are your first impressions of Turin 2006?
Turin is of course an industrial town, different quarters aren't very beautiful, one can understand that, but the Olympic sport sites are very beautifully designed. I looked at the Freestyle-skiing, that was very spectacular. Also in the halls here in Turin the athletes find good conditions.
You are regretting probably that you cannot remain to the end in Turin? Yes, in Luxembourg, the tasks are awaiting me, this Tuesday we'll go back home again, but in the four days, I look at a maximum pf competitions.
You participated in your characteristic as an IOC-member in Turin in the sessions of the plenary assembly. Rather surprisingly we learnt that the German Thomas Bach has been selected with large majority , with 57:34 votes, against its toughest challenger Mario Pescante of Italy to the IOC Vice president.
Did the IOC has the opinion that Bach was by far the best candidate?
Both were good candidates, the choice has fallen in favour of Bach.
In another vote Copenhagen was informed with the alignment of the 13th Olympic congress and simultaneously the 121st plenary assembly in the year 2009 , Cairo was in the weaker position. May one also politically interpret this vote, in connection with the caricature dispute, that caused quite a stir?
The one had nothing to do with the other one , otherwise the choice would have fallen out differently. I was
surprised that Cairo had been in the weaker position. For Africa, this would have been an important signal, I wish a larger roll of the African continent in our Olympic movement. Copenhagen has presented however a good
project and we must accept the choice of the Danish capital.
The IOC seems to have a hard time to include new sports in the program. After Singapore in the preceding year, the baseball and the Softball were rejected again, thus there figures two sport types fewer on the program of 2012 in London than 2008 in Beijing where there are 28. Why is this conservative attitude in the IOC?
We encountered the decision in Singapore seven months ago to take out baseball and Softball out of the program, we couldn't go back then. In two years, there will be again a discussion to integrate new sports into the program. I'm thinking carat and Squash which are more universal than baseball and Softball.
In two years in the session in Copenhagen, there will be made an interim balance, what concerns the reforms of the IOC, for example concerning the fight against drugs and exclusion of members which proved to be "marketable". Is in your opinion the way of the zero-tolerance how president Rogge formulates it, the right one?
There is no alternative. The interim balances in the fight against drugsis positive. At the games in Salt Lake City, numerous athletes were controlled, here in Turin there are yet more. The countries, that didn' t yet sign in the charter, are bounced to do it so that the rules are the same all over the world.
Monseigneur, you were selected eight years ago to the IOC-member, succeeding your father, Grand Duke Jean, already eight years go, one believes, it had been yesterday..
...really...
... your work in this group and also among the commission of the Olympic solidarity that you belong to from the beginning is connected with much satisfaction?
That's true. The development in the Olympic solidarity has been unbelievable for the last years , we are actually looking after a budget of more than 240 million dollars. We are distributing these sums at the different NOK's . This work gives me much satisfaction. We try to help the sport all around the world and of course in the developing countries, mainly the youth will make profit out of this.
Monseigneur, thank you very much,we wish you , Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Princess Alexandra , another comfortable stay in Turin.
