Olympics: IOC approves changes which include allowing events outside host city or country
Last Updated: 29/01/15 5:14pm
The International Olympic Committee has approved sweeping changes to the bidding process which will allow joint bids.
This opens the door to smaller nations who would otherwise not have the facilities and infrastructure to host the Games on their own.
The IOC voted in favour of the revised bidding system on Monday at the start of a special two-day session to adopt President Thomas Bach's 40-point "Olympic Agenda 2020" reform package.
Under the system, cities will be allowed to hold events outside the host city or country, "notably for reasons of geography and sustainability".
Football has used a similar system for some time, with Poland and Ukraine jointly hosting the 2012 European Championships.
Some delegates at the IOC meetnig in Monaco have concerns about the new system, though all of them voted it through.
Syed Ali, the IOC member from Pakistan, told the session: "This would tremendously increase the cost of travel, and the time spent on travel and diminish the whole atmosphere of the Games."
Denis Oswald, the Swiss IOC member who oversaw the preparations for London 2012, added: "I am concerned that it may be not a real Olympic experience and that athletes will not be able to stay in the Olympic Village.
"Legacy might be undermined by this measure as well - and I am thinking in particular of the emerging countries - they may encounter many difficulties."
A further change sees the cap on 28 sports lifted, though the limit on athletes will remain at 10,500. Host cities will be allowed to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events for their games.
That clears the way for 2020 hosts Tokyo to request baseball and softball. Both sports, dropped after the 2008 Beijing Games, are highly popular in Japan.
However, the limit of 10,500 athletes remains. This will mean big sports such as swimming will face pressure to accept a cut to the number of its events in order to allow more sports such as squash and baseball/softball into the Olympic programme.