Angelo Bolanaki

Angelo Christos Bolanachi (; 20 May 1878 - 26 July 1963) was an Egyptian Greek athlete and sports official. He represented Egypt in international athletic competitions in his early years before becoming Egypt's first International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative in 1910. That year, he also helped found the Egyptian Olympic Committee. He represented Egypt until 1932, when he stepped down from the position. Starting in 1933, he became the IOC representative for Greece. He received the Olympic Diploma of Merit in 1949 and continued to represent Greece until his death in 1963.

Early life Angelo Christos Bolanachi was born in Alexandria on 20 May 1878. His father, Christos, founded a distillery in the city in 1884, which produced cognac, rum, and whiskey. The distillery was successful, and placed the Bolanachi family firmly into the elite Egyptian Greek upper class. He was educated in Paris at the Lycée Condorcet.

Athletic career Bolanachi won the French school's tennis championship in 1896, his first athletic success. Starting at the age of 17, he trained for sprinting events on the grounds of Racing Club de France. Meanwhile, Kamel claims that the EOC was established on 13 June 1910, a year that the IOC also published. The IOC recognised the EOC that year as well. It remains unknown whether Bolanachi himself designed the flag based on de Coubertin's design, or if it was a gift from de Coubertin in Paris. In any case, the festival marks the first time the Olympic rings were flown, around six years before they were introduced to the Olympic Games. Ultimately, the 1916 Games would be cancelled due to World War I.

However, for the next games that occurred, the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Bolanachi was a leading figure in sending the first delegation of Egyptian athletes to a Games, consisting of a football team, two track athletes, two gymnasts, a weightlifter, and a wrestler. On their participation, Bolanachi said the athletes "represented the Egyptian Nation very well and were repeatedly admired and applauded by the public. The result of the participation of these few athletes will be of great use for the future development of sports education in Egypt."

Alexandria Stadium

Part of Bolanachi's original plan for Alexandria to host the 1916 Olympics included plans for the construction of a stadium atop the site of an ancient Ptolemaic stadium. Bolanachi proposed delaying the Games to 1929 due to a convoluted political situation and the ongoing construction of the stadium in Alexandria, which the IOC approved. An official invitation letter for the 1929 Games, scheduled for April 1929, were sent out to ministers across the various colonies of the continent. However, the Games were met with backlash, particularly from British colonial officials, who believed them to be Pan-Africanist propaganda. On 11 May 1928, British colonial representatives officially declared their non-participation for the Games, with other colonies following suit in short order. This led to the cancellation of the 1929 Games on 19 February 1929.

Citizenship controversy and ouster Bolanachi also experienced opposition to the Games within Egypt, largely from influential members of the EOC, who viewed Bolanachi as a "foreigner" and believed him to be unfit to represent Egypt at the IOC. Despite this, Bolanachi continued to be ambitious about hosting an Olympic event within Egypt, proposing both Mediterranean Games and the 1936 Summer Olympics to be held in Alexandria at the 1928 IOC Session in Amsterdam.

However, resentment of Bolanachi grew, fueled by Egypt's poor performances in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Summer Olympics. The Egyptian press blamed Bolanachi's Greek ethnicity as the reason behind Egypt's troubles during these Games, calling him incapable of guiding Egyptian athletes because he is not Egyptian himself. The EOC did not send athletes to the 1932 Summer Olympics due to a stand-off as a result of Bolanachi continuing to represent the nation at the IOC. Bolanachi wanted to remain the sole Egyptian IOC representative, which the IOC allowed and supported, even with growing movements to nationalise the sports federations of Egypt. In 1932, a new policy was published and spread that the IOC Member from Egypt should be Egyptian, with support from sporting organizations across the nation, effectively a motion of no confidence against Bolanachi. In an attempt to appease the Egyptian public, Bolanachi suggested the appointment of Hussein Sabri Pasha to serve alongside Bolanachi at the 1932 IOC Session in Los Angeles, however Hussein Sabri opposed serving alongside him. On 8 June 1933, Bolanachi was sworn in as the IOC member for Greece, which allowed him to serve in the IOC for the rest of his life. Bolanachi became the doyen of the IOC. Bolanachi also worked to secure hosting rights for Alexandria for both the 1951 Mediterranean Games, and for the 1953 Arab Games, along with Egyptian IOC member Muhammed Taher Pasha.

Despite the aggressive circumstances in which he was removed from the organisation, the EOC honoured Bolanachi with an award of merit for his role in the development of sport in Egypt in 1955.