The IOC will "spend more than half a billion dollars on its solidarity programme over the next four years, with a special focus on refugee athletes," according to the DPA. The IOC said in a statement Thursday that its exec board approved that the budget for development programs will rise by 16% from '13-16 to $509,285,000 in '17-20. IOC Olympic Solidarity Dir Pere Miro said, "This increase shows that the athletes remain at the heart of all our activity" (DPA, 11/11). The AP reported the funding represents a share of the broadcast rights from the 2016 and 2018 Olympics, and "is for programs prioritizing athlete development, training of coaches and sports administrators." There are two new programs across the 21 proposed for '17-20, "including one that puts extra emphasis on refugee athlete support." The IOC said that building on the experience in Rio, where a refugee Olympic team competed for the first time, "it would create a dedicated program to provide NOCs with the opportunity to identify and support a small number of refugee athletes living in their countries to prepare and participate in international competitions" (AP, 11/11).
