09 January 2025 – The 144th IOC Session will be held from 19 to 21 March at Costa Navarino in Greece (the “IOC Session”), with the opening ceremony taking place on 18 March. It will be preceded by a meeting of the IOC Executive Board (EB) on 17 March.
The IOC Session and the EB meetings will take place at the House of Events building, in the Romanos Resort in Costa Navarino, in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
The Romanos Resort is joined to the Westin Resort, where the Media Centre for the 144th IOC Session will be located. Together, the Romanos Resort and the Westin Resort make up the Costa Navarino Resort.
The opening ceremony of the 144th IOC Session will take place roughly 100km away, at Olympia in Greece.
Please find a detailed media advisory here, providing further information on accreditation, visas, accommodation, local transport, media facilities, the Main Media Centre, broadcast coverage, broadcast facilities and key contacts.
- ACCREDITATION
Media representatives wishing to cover the IOC meetings are required to complete the accreditation application on the IOC website on the IOC website by 20 January 2025. Applications will be reviewed, and a decision will be communicated no later than 31 January 2025.
We encourage media to apply as early as possible. Any questions regarding the application procedure should be referred to the IOC Media Relations team at pressoffice@olympic.org.
- VISAS AND IMMIGRATION
As Greece is a member of the European Union, media from all European Union member nations and associate nations can enter Greece without a visa to work there.
The link below is the official Greek Government list of which countries require a visa for their nationals to enter and work in Greece; Countries requiring or not requiring a Visa – Visas for Foreigners travelling to Greece
If media require a visa invitation letter to apply for a valid visa to enter and work in Greece, they should indicate this on their accreditation application for the event. If media are granted an accreditation, they will then be sent a visa invitation letter to apply for a valid visa to enter and work in Greece.
- ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation options in the Costa Navarino area are limited, as many hotels are closed in March during the tourism off-season. Media are therefore advised to book their accommodation as soon as possible.
The IOC’s local partner AFEA Congress has secured a number of rooms in dedicated media hotels. Media can book accommodation directly here in one of these hotels until 30 January 2025. In the event that their accreditation is not approved for any reason, media will be able to cancel their room(s) at no cost until 31 January at the latest.
Media can also source their own accommodation in local hotels or by renting local accommodation. The closest town with a greater variety of accommodation options is Kalamata, which is 53km and a one-hour drive from Costa Navarino.
- TRANSPORT
The main arrival airport for media will be Athens International Airport, which is 300km from the Costa Navarino Resort and a journey of between a three-and-a-half and four hours by car. Media will have to arrange their own airport transfers from and to Athens Airport.
There will be a media bus shuttle service which will call at the media hotel clusters (the specific media hotels where this service will stop are still to be confirmed) from 17 to 21 March. Details of this service will be available closer to the event.
There will be only a limited number of media parking spaces at the Costa Navarino Resort for media who hire cars, so media are advised to car share where possible. Media can request a car park pass through the IOC online registration system.
The media shuttle arrival and departure point and the media parking will be adjacent to the Westin Resort Reception within the Costa Navarino Resort. On arrival at the Westin Resort Reception, media can walk along the perimeter road to reach the Media Centre (a five-minute walk downhill) or use one of the media golf carts.
- SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
The planned schedule of events for the Executive Board meeting and 144th IOC Session will be available at a later stage. The election of the IOC President is currently planned to take place on 20 March. However, this is subject to change depending on the finalisation of the agenda. Media events are currently planned as follows, but remain subject to change:
17 March – IOC Press Briefing
19 March – IOC Press Briefing
20 March – IOC Press Conference with the IOC President and the IOC President-elect
21 March – IOC Press Briefing
As a reminder, for more details please see the full media advisory.
