Olympism in action - International Olympic Committee

O L Y M P I S M I N A C T I O N
THE OLYMPIC MUSEUM
The Olympic Museum celebrated its 10th birthday during the last quadrennial period. Opened in 1993 and
quickly established as the second most visited museum in Switzerland, it has increased in popularity over the
last four years, with nearly 800,000 people visiting the Museum site during this period. In 2001, there were
211,360 entrants; in 2002, 202,747; in 2003, 164,074; and in 2004, 195,442. The growth in the number of
visitors has partly been because of its renovation and the creation of new permanent exhibitions, a project which
began in October 1999 and which was completed on 23 June 2001. The formal opening was carried out by
Juan Antonio Samaranch, two weeks before he stepped down as IOC President. He cut the ribbon accompanied
by Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian long-distance runner, and Naim Suleymanoglu, the Turkish weightlifter.
Samaranch is now President of the Executive Board of the Olympic Museum Foundation.
The project, Museum 2000, cost a total of 10.3 million Swiss Francs. The result was an improvement in the
quality of service, and has enabled the Museum to overhaul the objects on display, while keeping the content
continually fresh and up-to-date. It has made the site more thought provoking and more informative, providing
greater excitement and participation. From 2001, the visitor has been able to experience two very different
exhibitions, depending on their particular interests. The first has focussed on the history of the Olympic
Movement, and the other has concentrated on Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Both are interactive and
accessible to a wide audience, and they convey the ideals of the Olympic Movement.
Benefiting from its spectacular setting and ample facilities, the Museum has increased the number of
temporary exhibitions over the last four years. These have been wide-ranging in their scope. Thus, at the time of
the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, there were displays of the history, mythology and daily life of
the Navajo tribe from Utah.The same year, there was an exhibition showing how fashion and sport had interacted
to such an extent that the two worlds had become intertwined with sportswear becoming fashion items.
In 2003, there was an exhibition outlining the history of the Davis Cup, highlighting the key moments in the
most famous team competition in tennis. The following year, to commemorate the centenary of the
founding of FIFA, the International Association Football Federation, there were displays detailing the
history of the “beautiful game”, including pictures from the outstanding moments of the World Cup.
One prominent exhibition in 2004 depicted life in Greece at the time of the Ancient Olympic
Games. Through imagery and sound, the visitor was able to simulate the experience of being
alive in the 5th Century BC.
Among the many international conferences that were held at the Museum was the one in
November 2002 when delegates discussed the legacy that cities had acquired from staging the
Olympic Games between 1984 and 2000. The benefits included those in education, tourism, as
well as the acquisition of sporting and urban facilities.
One notable statue that was erected in the park surrounding the Museum was that of Emil
Zatopek, the Czech runner, who in 1952 became the only person to win the 5,000 metres, 10,000
metres and marathon in the same Olympic Games. His widow, Dana Zatopkova, herself an Olympic
champion in 1952, attended the unveiling.
79 IOC FINAL REPORT