Danish Crown Prince Frederik said he hoped to be elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) next year, according to dpa. After previously avoiding questions from media, the prince commented on his IOC candidacy in remarks carried Friday by the online site of the Danish Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark. The prince confirmed he aimed to succeed Denmark's current IOC member Kai Holm when Holm steps down in 2009. Asked if there were issues he would be unable to comment on as an IOC member, the prince said: "Most of the IOC's work deals with sport. I will let others deal with the political issues that might arise." Asked about the IOC's reputation and previous allegations of corrupt members, he said, "the IOC we see today is different from that of the 1990s." Crown Prince Frederik said he strongly favoured "the spirit of sport," and was an opponent of doping since that violated the rules of fair play. The prince has not commented on calls from groups urging him to avoid the opening ceremony of the upcoming Olympic Games to protest Beijing's human rights record. Frederik met his wife, Australian-born Crown Princess Mary, at a Sydney pub during the 2000 Olympics. They were married in 2004.
