The IOC’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations used the World Urban Forum in Baku to argue that sport is a low-cost accelerant for urban sustainability — and pointed to four live cities as proof that the argument is already operational.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Laura Chinchilla addressed the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), calling in a video message for collaboration to make cities more sustainable through sport. WUF13 was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on May 17-22, 2026. Chinchilla, who is the IOC’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, stressed the benefits of including sport in urban development, as also supported by the UN Agenda 2030, Pact for the Future, and the Doha Declaration.
“Sport has emerged as a proven, low-cost, high-impact tool that can accelerate progress across social, economic and environmental dimensions,” said Chinchilla, opening a sport-related session at WUF13 entitled “Cities as playing fields.”
Chinchilla referred to the Sport for Sustainable Urban Development Initiative, which translates the IOC’s collaboration with UN-Habitat into action. The initiative, guided by the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, is currently being implemented in four cities: São Gonçalo (Brazil), Cairo (Egypt), Ghor Al-Safi (Jordan), and Accra (Ghana).
The World Urban Forum (WUF) is the premier global conference on sustainable urbanization. WUF was established in 2001 by the United Nations to examine the issue of rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The first WUF took place in Nairobi in 2002 and has been held around the world ever since.
