His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, President of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council attended the 27th Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly in Cascais, Portugal from October 28 to November 2.
The assembly gathered over 850 delegates from 200 National Olympic Committees (NOC), as well as representatives from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Federations and Olympic Organising Committees.
ANOC President Robin Mitchell emphasised the importance of collaboration between the NOCs and strengthening ANOC for the benefit of the Olympic Movement.
ANOC informed the general assembly of its decision to create a working group to review ANOC’s role and objectives.
The findings of the review will guide ANOC’s financial planning and be integrated into the development of the ANOC Strategic Plan 2025-2028. ANOC confirmed receipt of the resolution submitted by the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee which will be studied. ANOC outlined the timeline for the development of the Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the ANOC Executive Council for approval in March 2025 and subsequently presented to the NOCs. The ANOC General Assembly approved the Audited Financial Statements for 2022-2023.
The ANOC President and ANOC Secretary General presented ANOC’s activities since the last ANOC General Assembly in Seoul in 2022. The Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 delivered its final report to the ANOC General Assembly, reporting on the success of the Games.
The ANOC General Assembly received updates from IOC Administration and its Director General Christophe de Kepper and from Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Services James Macleod on the support available to NOCs. IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair Emma Terho also delivered an update of the work of the commission.
The ANOC presented the different projects and programmes of the ANOC Digital Accelerator Programme with an emphasis on supporting NOCs to enhance their digital and social media offerings. The Organising Committees of Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina 2026, Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 and Olympic Games LA28 gave positive updates on their preparations. The ANOC General Assembly also approved the ANOC Commission reports and ANOC confirmed Hong Kong will host the next ANOC General Assembly in 2026, following the decision of the Executive Council. – James Kon
