Being an important part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Transfer of Knowledge Programme, the Official Debrief of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is currently taking place (7-11 June) in Krasnaya Polyana, the area where the mountain events of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games will happen.

The five-day event provides a unique opportunity to transfer the key lessons learned by the Vancouver 2010 Organizing Committee (VANOC) to the next Games Organizing Committees of London 2012, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016, the Candidate Cities of 2018 and other representatives of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

The debriefing involves around 600 participants, including International Paralympic Committee (IPC) CEO Xavier Gonzalez and several IPC staff members.

Said Mr. Gonzalez: “This debriefing is a great opportunity to analyze the success of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and to look behind the scenes to understand the challenges that the organizers had to overcome. We thank VANOC for sharing their invaluable knowledge with everyone here in this frank and open atmosphere which will be of great benefit for Sochi 2014 and the other future organizers.”

In a full-day session dedicated to Paralympic Stakeholders, the IPC has the opportunity to review the general success factors and challenges of the Paralympic Games and to highlight the legacies, e.g., accessibility and sports development. The services to each stakeholder group (athletes, National Paralympic Committees, International Paralympic Sport Federations, media, sponsors, Paralympic Family, spectators) will also be analyzed. Representatives from various Olympic and Paralympic stakeholder groups are present to participate actively in the meetings, in order to share their experiences of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.