A few hours prior to the opening of the 6th Peace and Sport International Forum, the future Russian Olympic city prepares to welcome the international community

Sochi (Russia), 31 October, 2012 - more than 500 delegates from nearly 70 countries are today expected in Sochi for the 6th edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum. The Opening Ceremony will take place this evening and debates will continue until 2 November.

Organized for the first time outside Monaco, the Peace and Sport international Forum will attract some highly prestigious delegates to Sochi. Those who replied positively to the invitation from H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Joel Bouzou, President of Peace and Sport include:

• 2 Heads of State and 35 governments including 11 Ministers of Sport
• 7 IOC members
• 26 International Federations
• 17 National Olympic Committees
• 22 legendary sports men and women
• 26 NGOs
• 21 representatives from the private sector
• 40 Russian and international journalists

An essential event in the global agenda, the Peace and Sport International Forum will this year focus on the development of the peace through sport movement in an increasingly sensitive geopolitical context. The inaugural plenary session will address the legacy of the last five years of peace through sport, and the Forum will close with a session on the foreseen role of sport over the next decade.

Other debates on the agenda will cover the evolution of government action in sport; the substantial place of the private sector in peace through sport; and the ever more noticeable role of sport in resolving issues concerning inter-ethnic and inter-community barriers.

The host city for the Peace and Sport International Forum 2012, Sochi has initiated a special session that is eagerly awaited by all Forum delegates: "The Olympic Games: a platform for diplomatic dialogue?" This special session will focus on the consequences of using the Olympic Games as an expression of opposition to political differences between nations, and will try to find alternative ways to express political opposition with respect for the Olympic Truce.

Less than 500 days to the next Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2014, Russia also needs to demonstrate its ability to host the Olympic family and show the international sports movement that it has adequate infrastructures and facilities to accomodate the games. A visit to the Sochi 2014 Olympic sites is on the agenda of the Forum program.

The Peace and Sport International Forum 2012 in Sochi is the result of a long cooperation between Peace and Sport and the Ministries of Sport and Foreign Affairs in the Russian Federation. A launch press conference will take place today at 12:45pm at the Hotel Polyana in Sochi in the presence of Vitaly Mutko Minister of Sport for the Russian Federation, Anatoly Pakhomov Mayor of Sochi, and Joel Bouzou, President of Peace and Sport.