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VII Olympic Congress

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The resumption of Olympic Congresses following the First World War took place in Lausanne because, during the war, Pierre de Coubertin had moved the IOC headquarters there for the sake of neutrality. The main objective of the Congress was to complete the work, started in Paris in 1914, on streamlining the expanding Olympic Games programme.

Loyalty towards the IOC
This of course was of direct consequence for the International Federation’s and, following a suggestion by the International Cycling Union to create a union of international sports federations. They held a conference of their own immediately prior to the Congress in Lausanne. Against this backdrop it was perhaps not surprising that the Congress failed to bring about a more concise programme of competition, but the fact that the intended amalgamation of the federations into a world sports union did not happen could be seen as a sign of loyalty towards the IOC.

Ist Olympic Winter Games
The Congress decided not to introduce Olympic Winter Games as an independent part of the Olympics but the host country would be allowed to stage competitions in winter sports under the auspices of the IOC, assuming that the country met adequate landscaping and organizational criteria. France was the first to have the chance of staging an “International Winter Sports Week”. This took place at Chamonix in 1924 and later became officially known as the Ist Olympic Winter Games.