The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reaffirmed their partnership in promoting the Olympics during an official ceremony here on Thursday that highlighted the club’s donation to the Olympic Museum.
The ceremony featured the unveiling of a Jockey Club-engraved stone on the Wall of Contributors at the IOC Museum in Lausanne, in recognition of a one million U.S. dollars contribution from the Club.
“I’m proud to see the club’s name and logo on the Museum donors’ wall, because like the IOC, we at the club believe that sporting endeavor helps build international unity, respect and excellence,” the club chairman John C.C. Chan said during the proceedings.
The IOC President Jacques Rogge pointed out that the Olympic Museum is a place to discover and better understand the Olympic values and their importance within our modern society. “The Hong Kong Jockey Club understands and shares these values,” said President Rogge.
“I thank the Hong Kong Jockey Club for its support and commitment to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games.” he added.
In addition to the Olympic Museum donation, the ties between the non-profit club and IOC include an agreement to pave the way for developing a Hong Kong Olympic Museum.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Chan said of the club’s partnership with the IOC. “And since each of our institutions is already more than a century old, when we say ‘long haul’, we mean it.”
The club and IOC also held discussions about collecting memorabilia from the upcoming Games.
The Jockey Club invested 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (150 million U.S. dollars) in building and outfitting the 2008 Olympic equestrian venues.
The club is sponsoring Hong Kong’s first-ever Olympic team riders and the Club’s Equestrian Youth Ambassador Program includes both Hong Kong and Beijing students, and its online global campaign has people submitting photos to cheer on Hong Kong’s Olympic athletes.