The International Olympic Committee will anoint a new president on Thursday as Seb Coe battles with six other candidates to take the highest office in sport.
Twelve years after Thomas Bach was elected as the ninth IOC president since its inception in 1984, the 10th leader will be chosen in a secret vote by the 109 members, made up of an eclectic mix of royalty, billionaire businesspeople, sports executives and athletes from across the globe.
The next president’s mandate will include the summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028, and in Brisbane, Australia four years later. Big decisions facing the IOC include picking a host for the 2036 Olympics – with India, Qatar and possibly Saudi Arabia in the mix – assessing the impact of climate change on the global sports calendar and navigating the rise of streaming services in a rapidly changing entertainment-scape.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the election?
The election to decide the next president of the IOC takes place on Thursday 20 March at the luxury Costa Navarino hotel resort in Greece.
Voting is set to begin at around 2pm GMT, with an outcome likely to be delivered at around 3pm, depending on how many rounds of voting are required.
Who are the candidates?
- Lord Coe (Britain), 68, president of World Athletics, the Olympics’ biggest sport
- Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (Spain), 65, an IOC vice-president whose father was the president from 1980 to 2001
- Morinari Watanabe (Japan), 66, president of the International Gymnastics Federation
- Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), 41, decorated Olympic swimmer and minister for sport in Zimbabwe who serves on the IOC’s executive board
- Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan), 61, brother of the King of Jordan who serves on the IOC’s executive board
- David Lappartient (France), 51, president of World Cycling (UCI)
- Johan Eliasch (Britain), 63, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the Winter Olympics’ biggest sport.
How does voting work?
The 109 members will electronically cast a vote for their preferred candidate. All members must be physically present and no proxy voting is allowed.
The winning candidate must secure more than 50 per cent of the votes for an overall majority. If a majority isn’t achieved in the first round of voting, then the candidate with the least number votes is eliminated, and six candidates go through to the sixth round where votes are recast. The process goes on until one candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the total votes in a given round.
The only members who cannot vote are compatriots of candidates in the process. So, for example, the other three French members of the IOC cannot until David Lappartient is eliminated for the process. However, the candidates themselves can, and do, vote for themselves. Honorary members cannot vote.
Who will win the presidency?
That is difficult to predict, as members are under strict instructions not to publicly declare their allegiance. Coe is a highly respected figure in the world of sport and his role in charge of athletics, the Olympics’ biggest sport, stands him in good stead, but he has butted heads with IOC figures in the past over high-profile issues like Russian sanctions.
Juan Antonio Samaranch is the establishment name after his father served as president for two decades, and he has been a member of the IOC for more than 20 years compared to Coe’s five years inside the organisation.
The 41-year-old former swimmer Kirsty Coventry – Africa’s most decorated Olympian – is also a serious contender, with the quiet backing of incumbent president Thomas Bach and the likely support of many women and recently retired athletes among the membership. She would be the first female president of the IOC and the first from Africa.
Prince Feisal Al Hussein is also a popular character inside the IOC and is expected to command support from across the globe.
