Lausanne, Olympic Capital

From the sporting competition that saw athletes and teams from every nation competing, an intellectual movement called “Olympism” was born, founded on the idea that the intense cultural and artistic exchange typical of sporting events can lead to understanding and fairness among nations.
The ancient “Olympism” was revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1892, who decided to bring the Olympic Games back to life. On June 22, 1894, at the Sorbonne in Paris, the International Olympic Committee was established, and in 1896 the first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens from April 6 to 15. The Committee’s goals were both organizational and educational. Through the Committee, cultural programs related to the various editions of the games were promoted.
A few years later, the IOC headquarters were moved from Paris to Lausanne, and since 1915 all materials concerning the games have been collected and archived there. In 1982 a provisional museum with an attached study center was opened, and on June 23, 1993, on the occasion of International Olympic Day, the “Olympic Museum” was inaugurated, a unique structure of its kind worldwide. The Museum (with a total surface area of 11,000 sqm) is the work of architects Pedro Ramirez Vazquez (Mexico) and Jean-Pierre Cahen (Switzerland), who adopted a “classic-modern” style with deliberate references to ancient Greece. The museum building is constructed on a slope and extends across five levels. Two floors are below ground level, while the other three follow the terrain through terraces. The public park surrounding the museum covers 23,220 sqm and overlooks Lake Geneva and the Savoy Alps. Eight columns of bright white marble from the island of Thasos, a gift from the Greek government, symbolize the temple of Zeus and mark the entrance to the building. Inside the museum, 3,400 sqm (over two levels) are dedicated to the permanent exhibition collection (gymnastics equipment, Olympic medals, torches from all modern Games, art and archaeological objects, a philatelic collection, and a numismatic collection), while the remaining space houses a specialized library (15,000 volumes), an auditorium for 180 people, a photo archive (200,000 photos), a film archive for 7,000 hours of projection, a paper document archive, a boutique, and a cafeteria. It also contains the most complete collection of stamps and coins minted for the games.
The exhibition design was done by museologists Iker Larrauri and Jorge Agostoni, with director Luis Monreal responsible. Technology also plays a key role in the building. High-definition televisions, laser discs, and fiber optics are extensively used, and with the help of computers and robots, the enormous quantities of graphical and filmed information requested by visitors can be managed simultaneously. Sophisticated telematic and multimedia systems are also used for acquiring information related to the Olympic games and closely connected subjects.
Works by Botero, Rodin, Tapies, Berrocal, Chillida are scattered throughout, and at the entrance, the perpetually lit Olympic flame shines in a granite basin designed by André Ricard.