Leaders pledge billions for sports at Olympics summit

World and business leaders have pledged billions of dollars in financing and committed to supporting various sporting initiatives aimed at accelerating sustainable development, one day before the Olympic Games officially open. 

About 500 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, attended Thursday’s summit in Paris championed by French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“It’s the synergy of our actions and everything that we can do together with the sports movement that is absolutely essential,” said Macron.

“The Games are a way to cast a light on what we are doing and launch new initiatives and thanks to all the donations that have been mobilised for the African, Latin American and Pacific continents and I thank you for the everyday engagement towards this direction.”

Leaders agreed on commitments in the fields of education and employment, health and nutrition, equality, inclusion and sustainability, among other topics.

A coalition of public development banks and other financial institutions pledged to invest $10 billion (€9.2 billion) across the world for community-based, inclusive and sustainable sports infrastructure by 2030.

The French Development Agency said it will release €500 million for sustainable development in sports by 2030.

The IOC also announced a 10% increase in its budget dedicated to Olympic solidarity, amounting to $650 million (€599 million) for 2025-2028.

With his country slated to host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the “Olympic ideal is today challenged by the tragedy of war, by violence in every form and by the ever-rising inequality among nations.”

“This is also the chance to get the attention of the summit to address the unbearable curse or racism, and the racial discrimination which is engrained in sports within a context of trivialization of hate speech and xenophobia,” he said.