Seoul/Lausanne (RWH) Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committe IOC, was awarded the 15th Seoul Peace Prize. As the IOC announced, President Bach joined the ceremony of the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation on October 26 virtually from Lausanne. The award was collected on his behalf by the former Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon.
„Thomas Bach has devoted himself to promoting peace through sport. He lit a torch of hope for refugees worldwide by introducing the Refugee Olympic Team in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, an unprecedented deed in the history of the Olympics, which has raised global awareness of refugee issues and promoted respect for refugee’s human rights“, the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation announced in a press release. „His efforts focused on friendship and harmony among developing countries through the revitalization of sports and this gave way to the participation of North Korea in the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics hosted by South Korea.“
„It is with much gratefulness and appreciation that I humbly accept this distinction, and I would like to thank the Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation for this honour. This prize belongs to the entire IOC and the whole of the Olympic Movement“, Thomas Bach said in his acceptance speech.
The Seoul Peace Prize comes with a USD 200,000 prize which President Bach will donate to the Olympic Refuge Foundation and three other social charities.
>> IOC Press release with video of the full acceptance speech
Photo: IOC / Greg Martin
