IOC member Patrick Hickey is proposing a “European Games”, thought to have backing of IOC president Jacques Rogge, and likely to be put to a vote in November, with the support of 47 of the 49 European National Olympic Committees. The reason being that other continents already have their own Games with Pan American Games, Pan Arab Games, All-Africa Games and Asian Games, and that Europe is loosing track when it comes to Olympic medals.
“European results at Olympic Games are diminishing all the time. Whereas we used to win the most medals, we are now dropping out of that zone,” he [Patrick Hickey] said.
“We have a feeling that a European Games can be used to spark European supremacy again at the Olympic Games.”
The big problem is of course scheduling, with the sporting calender already being crowded, and meaning that a European Games might have to replace existing events such as the European Athletics Championships [and maybe the European Championships in swimming?].
Read more here on bbc.co.uk.
