UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make a keynote speech Thursday morning at the 126th general assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Sochi, confirmed IOC spokesman Mike Adams on Wednesday.
"Tomorrow, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will deliver a keynote speech in the morning at a time of, I think, 9:30," said Adams.
This will be the first-ever speech to an IOC session by a UN chief.
In the summer of 2012, Ban carried the Olympic torch on the final leg of its journey to the opening of the London Olympic Games. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in November calling for a global truce during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi from Feb. 7 to 23, as well as the Paralympics slated on March 7-16.
According to IOC president Thomas Bach at a pre-Games press conference two days ago, Ban's speech will be about the role of the IOC and sport in society.
Among the day-one discussions of the three-day session, running from Wednesday to Friday, 166 members representing 68 NOCs debated around three themes of sustainbility, equality and youths about the Olympic Games' future. Endi