Cultural forum marks Olympic anniversary

The first Tiantan Forum on Dialogue between Civilizations was held in Beijing on Friday, marking the 130th anniversary of the modern Olympics.

The forum, titled Olympics and Common Values of Humanity, discussed various topics on world and Chinese civilizations, the culture of the Olympics and the modern world and its future.

In 1892, Pierre de Coubertin published his historic Olympic Manifesto, of which the main idea was making sport a force for good in the world, marking the birth of the modern Olympic movement.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympics Committee, said in a congratulatory letter that 130 years later, the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games demonstrated the Olympic mission has timeless relevance to promote solidarity and peace for all humankind.

He added the world needs the "unifying power of sport" more than ever in "troubled times".

At the forum, various officials and experts held discussions and made keynote speeches.

Laurent Bili, the French ambassador to China, said in his speech Paris will host the next Olympics after China hosted the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics this year.

This connection with the Olympic Games would surely inspire France and China to create more opportunities for cooperation in the field of sports, he said.