A baton was symbolically passed today from London to Rio de Janeiro, during the Opening Plenary for the IOC London 2012 Debriefing.The President of the London 2012 Olympic Games Organising Committee, Sebastian Coe, presented the silver coloured baton to the President of the Rio de Janeiro 2016™ Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

Nuzman explained that the idea came out of a discussion during the London Games. “At the end of the London Games, we had the idea of exchanging something, and who knows if that doesn’t become common practice for future editions? We’re getting the baton from the big boss of the Games”, said Nuzman.

Sebastian Coe thought it was a great idea. “I thought it was a fantastic idea, and have brought a baton inscribed with the names of all host cities of the past, with certainty that you will organize an excellent Olympics”, he concluded.

After the baton passing ceremony, the IOC’s Executive-Director of the Olympic Games, Gilbert Felli, opened proceedings by pointing out the event’s importance for information Exchange. “The spirit of this debriefing must be one of open and frank interaction. We all must search for information and ask questions to soak-up the experience of the London team present here”, he explained.

The IOC London 2012 Debriefing takes place in Rio de Janeiro until Wednesday, November 21. The event is a crucial part of the knowledge transfer programme of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is usually held after each Olympic Games edition.

This will be the seventh edition of the event, which will havea combination of plenary discussions and side meetings, will look at the planning, operational and technical elements of organising Olympic Games, such as sport, accommodation, transport, culture, education and logistics, as well as sessions concerning the experience of participants of the Games, such as athletes, spectators, workforce and the media.