place at the Congress in Baden-Baden. This was the first time that athletes played a leading role in a Congress and could express their opinions on the issues under discussion. This Congress paved the way for the creation of the IOC Athlete's Commission, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2007. Paris, France 1994 The primary concern of the Congress in Paris was the protection of the environment. The delegates focused on developing measures to optimise the Olympic Movement's contribution to preserving the environment. The 1994 Congress was the first time members of the media were invited to speak and had an entire discussion theme devoted to their concerns. It was not surprising that this Congress was later entitled "The Congress of Unity" as the event was a testimony to the good relationship among the various constituents of the Olympic Family. 21st century Copenhagen, Denmark 2009 In 2005, the IOC President Jacques Rogge called for the 13th Olympic Congress to be scheduled for 2009. On 8 February 2006, Copenhagen, Denmark, was chosen as the host of the 13th Olympic Congress defeating Cairo, Egypt, by 59 votes to 40. With this result, no Olympic Congress has ever taken place outside of Europe. The nine original candidate cities were: Athens (Greece), Busan (South Korea), Cairo (Egypt), Copenhagen (Denmark), Lausanne (Switzerland), Mexico City (Mexico), Riga (Latvia), Taipei (Taiwan) and Singapore. Athens was eliminated in the first round of voting and Riga in the second. Singapore lost a tie-breaker with Taipei in round three. Taipei was eliminated in the following round and Busan in the fifth round. Mexico City dropped out of the running in January 2006, followed by Lausanne a few days before the vote. The 13th Olympic Congress was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 3 to 5 October 2009. The theme for the Congress in 2009 was the "Olympic Movement in Society". The 121st Session of the IOC was also held in Copenhagen on 2 October 2009 where the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics was announced to be Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The participants for the 13th Olympic Congress will include IOC members, honorary and honor members; representatives of the International Federations, National Olympic Committees and organising committees of the Olympic Games; athletes and athlete support staff (coaches, doctors and medical staff); referees, judges and technical officials; the IOC's Olympic partners; and the media. For the first time, members of the