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The Association
of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), representing 206 national
bodies, has been in the U.S. capital since Tuesday and its
general assembly opened on Thursday, followed by a gala awards
ceremony.
The United States has not hosted an ANOC meeting for 21 years.
The general protocol at these events is for a senior government
official of the host country to address the opening session.
It is usual practice for such gatherings to be greeted by a
senior government official, and with Los Angeles bidding for the
2024 games, the efforts made by prospective host cities are
closely scrutinized by officials.
The assembly program was halted by ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad
Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the key power brokers in international
sports, who introduced Biden.
"My very good friend Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles was having
breakfast with me the other morning and he said, 'You know, I
think there has been an oversight , no one from the
administration has been here to welcome this distinguished
delegation of leaders from around the world'," Biden told the
meeting.
“He is right, it was an oversight and for that I apologize and I
am poor substitute, but I am delighted to be here," he said in
an apparent reference to President Barack Obama.
Los Angeles, which hosted the Summer Games twice before, in 1932
and 1984, is in a race with Paris, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg to
host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Boston had been the U.S's original choice but pulled out of the
race in July.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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