International Olympic Committee elects SA film producer Anant Singh
SOUTH African film producer Anant Singh has been named as one of the newly elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) members.
The IOC held its 129th session ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, where the election of eight new members was announced.
This means SA will‚ for the first time‚ have two IOC members. Singh’s friend and mentor Sam Ramsamy was re-elected to the IOC.
Singh is not new to the IOC‚ being a member of its channel commission, which is being launched at the Rio Olympic Games. He was nominated for his expertise in cinema.
Singh’s first visit to the IOC was in 1997‚ when he was part of a delegation presenting Cape Town’s bid for the 2004 Olympics. Singh put that presentation together.
He attended his first Olympics in 1984 and some of his movies have had strong sports themes‚ such as More Than Just a Game and The Long Run. He also made documentaries about Olympic champions Penny Heyns and Josia Thugwane.
Speaking from Rio‚ Singh said: "It is a huge honour for me to be elected as an individual member to serve on the IOC. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to furthering the spirit of Olympism and the ideals of the Olympic movement‚ especially on the African continent."
Other newly elected members are Nita Ambani (India); Sari Essayah (Finland); Ivo Ferriani (Italy); Luis Moreno (Colombia); Auvita Rapilla (Papua New Guinea); Tricia Smith (Canada) and Karl Stoss (Austria).
TMG Digital
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