Beach clean held in Cascais ahead of ANOC General Assembly as invitations sent out

A beach clean was held today on Carcavelos Beach in Cascais  as preparations for the ANOC General Assembly continue to gather momentum with invitations having recently been sent out to delegates.

The clean-up was held as part of the Sustainability Action Plan for the ANOC General Assembly and was supported by ANOC, the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP), Olympic Partner, P&G, and Associação Bandeira Azul.

ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg, who took part in the clean-up, said:

“This beach clean is a very positive initiative and part of the sustainability programme that we are working hard on with our partners in COP and Cascais. The community is very involved and they are cleaning beaches across six different programmes. It is also an important opportunity to better understand the damage that is being done to our environment and learn more about the steps we can all take to prevent it.

“With the invitations for the General Assembly having now been sent out we really feel the event is getting closer and we want to use the platform in front of 206 NOCs to advocate for greater efforts in sustainability.”

The beach clean-up is the latest sustainability initiative by ANOC and COP following the planting of one hectare of native trees in February to support the offsetting of carbon emissions for the General Assembly.

The clean-up was opened by Bandeira Azul before and saw the involvement of representatives from ANOC, COP and the city including ANOC Secretary General Lindberg and COP Secretary General José Manuel Araújo and Municipal Councillor Francisco Kreye.

World-renowned beach artist, Bruno Mauricio, created the General Assembly logo in the sand to mark the occasion.

The General Assembly will take place on 28 October – 2 November 2024 and invitations have now been sent out to all NOCs and Olympic Movement delegates. More than 1,000 delegates from 206 NOCs, the IOC, International Federations, Organising Committee and other Olympic stakeholders are expected to attend.