The 146th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2027 will be held in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), according to the organization’s assembly approved this Friday in Costa Navarino, Greece.

The proposal was accepted by a large majority, with 93 votes in favor and 2 against. Previously, the 2026 Session will be held in Milan on the eve of the next Winter Games.

The Punta Cana proposal was defended by IOC member Luis Mejía, the president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, Garibaldy Bautista, two-time Olympic champion Félix Sánchez, and Felipe Vicini, president of the bid, among others.

Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, sent a video message offering IOC members his country’s hospitality. The Session will be hosted by the Bávaro Convention Center, with 11,500 square meters of facilities.

Luis Mejía, invited by IOC President Thomas Bach to “distract” the assembly members while they voted, danced bachata in front of his colleagues.

IOC member for Singapore, Ser Miang Ng, in charge of evaluating Punta Cana’s proposal, reported that he had received all the necessary economic and security guarantees from the Dominican government to host the Olympic conclave and recommended the Dominican Republic as the host. IOC members welcomed the proposal.

The 2027 IOC Session will be the first in the country and the first in a Spanish-speaking country since the 2018 session in Buenos Aires for the Youth Games.

Source: Diario Libre