Based on an assessment report examining seven candidate sports - baseball, golf, karate, in-line skating, rugby, softball and squash - the board will recommend two for inclusion in the 2016 Games. The final decision will be taken on 3-5 October during the Olympic Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On 2 Octover, the IOC will announce the host city of the 2016 Summer Games. The four candidate cities are Chicago (USA), Madrid (Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).
Meanwhile, the bid process for the 2018 Winter Games was launched today (31 July).
Olympic Movement overhaul
The 2009 Olympic Congress is taking place 15 years after the previous one, held in Paris in 1994. The Paris Congress highlighted the environment and the sustainable development of sports practices as its driving topics. Since then, they have been included in the Olympic Charter as the third pillar of Olympism, alongside sport and culture.
The 2009 congress aims to "take the pulse of the Olympic Movement," analysing its strengths and weaknesses and evaluating the opportunities and challenges it faces.
In view of the congress, the International Olympic Movement held a public consultation earlier this year, inviting stakeholders to give their views on emerging issues like the decline in sports participation among young people and management of sports rights in the digital age.
Held under the banner 'The Olympic Movement in Society', the 2009 congress will take stock of the results of the consultation and determine the way forward for the movement's future development. Key topics include athlete-related issues, the Olympic Games, the structure of the Olympic Movement, Olympism and youth, and the digital revolution.
Specific issues to be discussed include combining social and professional life during and after elite competition, Olympic values, the autonomy of the Olympic Movement and the appeal of competitive sport for young people.
