On October 10 the GNOC (Georgian National Olympic Committee) celebrated the 25th anniversary. During this time Nona Gaprindashvili, Jano Bagrationi, the late Badri Patarkatsishvili and Gia Natsvlishvili headed the GNOC. Now it is led by Leri Khabelov. IOC president Thomas Bach and European Olympic Committees president Patrick Hickey arrived in Tbilisi for the celebration.
Other important guests have also arrived, including Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian former pole vaulter, European, world and Olympic champion, world record holder and president of Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
The events dedicated to the anniversary started with the meeting of Bach and Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia. Mass media was not allowed to attend this meeting. After that monumental-sculptural exposition “Ode to the Olympic Champions” opened in the yard of the GNOC. In the GNOC building Garibashvili and Bach met the guests who arrived for the anniversary. Mass media did not attend this meeting. Later the GNOC signed cooperation agreement with the representatives of the Estonian, Lithuanian, Moldovan, Polish, Greek, Ukrainian and Kyrgyz National Olympic Committees. In the Olympic museum of the GNOC head office Bach met Georgian athletes with the IOC scholarships, the best athletes of the year and medal winners of Youth Olympic Games.
Later Bach and Hickey met Giorgi Margvelashvili, president of Georgia. The media did not attend this meeting and dinner at the restaurant “In the Shadow of Metekhi”.
In the second part of the day Bach visited the children’s paintings exhibition “We are future Olympians” at Tbilisi Youth Palace. Hickey visited the facilities of Olympic Festival “Tbilisi 2015”.
The events dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the GNOC finished at Rustaveli State Academic Theater where representatives of the media and sport gathered. Bach and Hickey were awarded with the GNOC medals. Garibashvili, Gaprindashvili and Khabelov made a speech. The evening was well organized. The Georgian singers and dance ensemble “Rustavi” participated in the event. After the evening Bach held a press conference for the mass media. He thanked the Georgians for such warm hospitality.
Roland Labuchidze
