The International Olympic Committee (IOC) claims that President Thomas Bach, 68, works as a volunteer at the organization. Last year, they still paid him 3.6 million kroner.

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In addition, the IOC handled a tax bill of NOK 1.6 million for Bach in Switzerland last year.

It emerged from the IOC annual report, which was published on Friday. That same weekend, Norwegian sporting leaders gathered in Troms. There they hear Mina Gerhardsen declared that «Sports Norway is ready for the new Olympics».

In this case, it would require mobilization among volunteers across the country. During the Beijing Olympics earlier this year, 18,000 people worked for free to make the wheels spin. In Tokyo six months earlier, 80,000 people queued without being paid.

The IOC now claims that President Thomas Bach and board member Kristin Kloster Aasen are defined into the same category: Volunteering.

“Like all members of the IOC, the president is a volunteer. Therefore, the IOC operates on the principle that, on the one hand, he must not derive finances from his position, at the same time he does not have to finance his work out of his own pocket »an IOC spokesperson wrote to VG.

Then the amount also stated in the annual report is confirmed:

“The IOC covers the president’s costs, which amount to $376,000 (NOK 3.6 million) in 2021. This amount includes 275,000 euros (NOK 2.8 million) in agreed annual compensation.”

“In line with previous practice, the IOC will pay $165,000 ($1.6 million) to cover income taxes related to the president’s activities in Switzerland in 2021.”wrote the spokesperson.

Among other things, VG has asked the IOC what kind what expenses Thomas Bach actually has, whether he pays for flights, hotels, and meals out of his own pocket, and why he is defined as a volunteer.

These questions have not been answered.

When asked if Kristin Kloster Aasen agreed that Thomas Bach was a volunteer, the board member replied:

– The president of the IOC, like the members of the IOC, is a shop assistant, unlike those who work in the administration of the IOC. Since the president must be available to the organization on a full time basis, an annual fee has been assigned to him, which appears and is justified in the annual report.

Like honorary member Gerhard Heiberg, he receives $7,000 (67,000 kroner) in so-called “administrative support” each year.

Kloster Aasen also received $900 for the board meeting he attended. In addition, he received $900 for the day before and the day after attending a physical meeting.

That’s $2,700 (26,000 kroner) if he goes to Switzerland for a one-day meeting. The compensation also applies to President Thomas Bach, the IOC said.

– Is the amount fair and reasonable?

– I relate to what has been determined and I focus on doing the work and tasks that I have thoroughly and well, Kristin Kloster Aasen told VG.

Thomas Bach’s annual fixed compensation increase is just over NOK 500,000 from 2020 to 2021. This equates to a 22 percent increase.

According to the website In game The IOC leadership received a total salary of $13.95 million (NOK 134 million) in 2021. This is a 64 percent increase since 2017, when it was $8.5 million (NOK 82 million). The number of people receiving salaries may still vary over this five-year period.

The IOC emphasized in an email to VG that the organization retains 10 percent for its own operations, but distributes 90 percent of its revenue to sport around the world:

“In the 2017-2020/2021 period, the IOC supported the Olympic movement with 4.2 million dollars (40 million kroner) daily throughout the year, compared to 3.4 million dollars (33 million kroner) in the previous four-year period »writes the organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Listen to “The Giver and the gang” discuss the possibility of a new Olympics in Norway here: