The New Olympic Museum
in Lausanne - Culture Meets Sports
B y C h ristia n W acker
Aerial view to the park
and new museum.
Photo: Press Kitfor theopening
ofthe museum2013
The in h a b ita n ts of Lau sann e had been cu rio u s and
excited w hen the new Olympic Museum reopened after
nearly two years of renovation. W hile the m useum was
d osed, parts of the collection had been on d isp la y on
an old restored paddle steamer in its own little harbour
in front of the m useum . During the first five weeks after
reopening 50,000 visitors enjoyed the new experience
due to free adm ission. This is prom ising, but raising the
visito r num bers is not first priority according to Francis
Gabet, Director of the m u seum . He is keen to sh ow ­
case Olympic culture and sees the m useum as means to
share: share the idea, share the content and share the
experience.
The history of the Olympic Museum
The idea of collecting Olympic history and m em orabilia
goes back to Pierre de Coubertin, w ho started to build
an archive in the attics of the Casino de Montbelon in
Lausanne after m oving the headquarters of the IOC in
1915. In 1922 the collection was transferred to a pleasant
m ansion inside the city's park M on-Repos, where it was
constantly growing due to gifts from the Olympic fam ily
a ll around the world. In 1970 the perm anent exhibition
there closed its doors. With the election of Juan Antonio
Samaranch as IOC President the awareness of collecting
a n d e x h ib it in g O lym p ic h e rita g e got a s ig n ific a n t
boost. D uring the 1980s a so -c a lle d 'show case' in the
h eart of Lausanne w as used to d isp la y more th an 40
tem po rary e x h ib itio n s an d budgets w ere created to
acquire Olym pic collections. The basis w as laid out for
the Olympic Museum, w hich opened its doors in 1993.
Twenty years after the in a u g u ra tio n of th e Olym pic
M useum an d 15 0 ye ars a fte r th e birth of Pierre de
Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Gam es, the
renovations of the new m useum w ere com pleted in
December 2013.
The vision and mission of the new Museum
"The Olym pic M useum is a w o r ld -c la s s m u ltim e d ia
p la tfo rm w h ere 'v is it o r s ’ - fro m a ll n a tio n s a n d
cultures, young and old, Olympic fans or not - feel, ex­
perience and understand the com plex and enthralling
story of the people - in d iv id u a ls or groups, sportsmen
and entrepreneurs, heroes and ordinary people - who
come together to make Olympism contribute to a better
w orld through sports. [...] To en able our audiences to
understand, experience and share in the Olympic ideals
beyond th e Gam es th rou g h b u ild in g a better w orld
th rou g h sports [ ...] " ’ “The purpose o f The Olym pic
Museum is to help people und erstan d and share the
'Olym pic id e a’ over and above celebrating the Games
themselves, and to highlight the Games’ contribution to
the societies of yesterday, today and tomorrow."2
The new Olympic Museum is the home of the "Olympic
Fire betw een th e G am es" an d pays trib u te to those
who continue to celebrate the Olympic Idea also after
the Gam es. Those are not on ly athletes and coaches,
but also a ll th ose w ho con tribute to the M ovem ent
(architects, po litician s, artists, youngsters etc.). "The
Olym pic Movement em braces culture and the Olympic
Museum is its heart and g u id ing light. This m useum is
both the universal centre of the m emory of the Olympic
Games and a place that invites people to meet, talk and
th in k, thus m aking its visitors aware of the real scope of
sport and the Olympic Movement."3
Beyond spo rt, th e m useum seeks to observe and
o u t lin e c u ltu ra l d e v e lo p m e n ts. The v is ito r m ig h t
fin d o p p o rtu n itie s to look beyon d O lym p ic Sports
an d M ovem ent, asks que stio ns ab o ut so cio -c u ltu ral
phenom ena and partially also answered. "This diversity
and richness of sport is a treasure th at we m ust, more
than ever, preserve; but also present an d share in an
active and participatory way. "“To sum m arize, the vision
and m ission follows th e v is io n o f t h e Olympic Movement
as a w h o le to con tribu te to b u ild in g a better w orld
through sport.
Concept and Content
"We are determ ined to make the m useum informative,
thought-provoking, excitingand inspirational. A global,
reinvigorated an d m u ltid isc ip lin a ry project designed
above a ll to encourage contact an d d ia lo g u e ." 5 The
visito r jo u rn e y starts w ith a w alk through the Olympic
Park from Quai d'Ouchy up to the m useum b u ild in g .
One gets the alternative to use the still existing pathway
passing by donations of art and artistic contributions to
the IOC. Or one may chose a n e w ly -b u ilt staircase with
steps engraved with names of torchbearers. Reaching the
top a 10 0 m track, a shot put area, a high ju m p bar and
other elements of tra c k -a n d -fie ld enrich the experience
of an a r t and sports park. It is no w o n d e r th a t the most
pro m inent spot at the m useum entrance is taken by a
statue of Pierre de Coubertin, looking down to an Olympic
fire burning all year round and the Lake of Geneva.
The v isito r entering the m useum fin d s h im se lf in an
open h all d o m in ated by elegan t greyish colours. The
m ain architectural elem ent, a spiral ramp that leads to
the upper floor, was recovered from the old bu ilding and
welcomes the start to the experience. An open shop area
and ticketing are to the left; a series of seven screens to
the right showcase future Olympic events and might offer
diversion for groups who w a it for their entry.
JOH 1 I 2014 The new Olympic M useum in Lausanne - Culture meets Sports
The ramp le a d in g to th e upper flo or is flan ked by an
interactive curtain and video production show casing
the torch relay and ideally follow ing the visitor w alking
up. Many visitors appreciate th is interactive com pany
but do not get the message, as the setup appears to be
slig h tly mystical'.
The v is ito r jo u rn e y c o n tin u e s to th e first chap ter
the Olym pic W orld, entering a n cie n t Olym pia and an
im p re ssiv e 18 0 -d e g re e p ro jectio n re v iv in g th e site
of O lym p ia . An in teractive m odel e x p la in s th e site;
artefacts of an cient sports are mostly connected to in ­
teractive d isp la ys, w h ich co n ne ct th e v isito r to the
items. This didactic approach helps a lotto turn 'boring'
histo rical topics to attractive experiences an d th e re ­
fore are repeated throughout the m useum . The 'jum p'
to Pierre de Coubertin an d h is achie ve m en ts for the
Olympic Movement is a bit harsh and leaves aside 1500
years, w h ich h a d n 't been free of 'Olym pic reception'.
A photo a lb u m projected to the w a ll brings us closer
to the Coubertin fam ily, an interactive desk tells us the
story of the 1 8 % Congress and the earliest IOC activities
and bookshelves are used to display a variety of trophies
of the early Games.
The o rig in a l first O lym pic fla g from 19 14 fin a liz e s
the area of Pierre de Coubertin and the early Olym pic
M ovem ent an d le ads to a g ra p h ica l tim e lin e of a ll
Olympic Games (except the so -ca lle d intercalary Games
from 1906). The torch relay fo llo w s, w ith a ll Olym pic
torches an d beautiful arranged short film s ab o ut the
relays, with are highly appreciated by the visitors.
The interactive
photo album of the
Coubertin family.
Photo: ChristianWacker.
The last part of the Olympic World c o v e rs by the Olympic
Cities w ith them atic islands about architecture, m edia,
design and others. Visitors are invited to stream around
an d be surprised by really curious item s, especially in
the area of m erchandise. The op ening cerem onies are
show n in a film production w ith a historical view and
h avin g the public in front of a very em otional projection
w ith the aim to get the eyes w et and turn a sm ile into
the faces.
17
Display of the torches.
Photo: ChristianWacker.
"he second floor is devoted to the Olympic Games with
an im m ense central projection cap tu rin g em otio nal
m om ents like th e start of a race, the dram a of a fight
or the seconds before results are d isplayed. This piece
is breathtaking and visitors stay even w atching it two
tim es. This 'cin e m a' is surrounded by d isp lay islan ds,
sh o w in g ite m s from sports w o m en a n d m en from
different Olym pic Gam es. Interactives screens tell the
stories of these athletes, and incorporate m any film s.
~he huge database of vide o clips of the IOC had been
js e d to te ll story at its best. Th is is w h a t the visito r
w ants! One of these islands has been ded icated to the
3aralym p ic sport; an unfortunate solution keeping in
m ind th e p o p u larity of these Gam es esp e cia lly after
_ondon20i2.
Questions about all around the Games are asked in the
Olympic Spirit, the third part of the exhibition. Whilst the
design in the first two parts is elegant and harm onious,
this third part lacks creativity. Sure the topics on display
like doping, sports psychology, technology or train ing
methods are not easy, b u t an "Olym pic village, where all
nations and all sports m eet"6 needs more than a dozen
m a n n e q u in s. Visitors are o b vio u sly not attracted by
this part of the exhibition but get th eir satisfaction back
view in g all m edals on display at the exit of the perm a­
nent exhibition of the new Olympic Museum.
The pedagogical w ork at the Olym pic M useum had
alw ays been very professional and the new perm anent
exhib ition offers a variety of opportunities to encour­
age especially kids. In addition to th a t the new museum
also offers two educational spaces each 150 sqm, one for
traditio nal m useum education and the other with the
atm osphere of a TV studio, where pupils w ill be able to
produce th eir own sports pieces.
Museographical approach
M useum s are c h an g in g ; the very best are h ybrids -
hom es for collections and programmes, as w ell as hubs
for events an d activ itie s, tem po rary e x h ib itio n s and
festivals. They are also businesses to generate income
from th eir programmes, retail outlets and catering.
The experience differs from visito r to visitor. Each visitor
w ill experience the sam e m aterial uniquely. This is why
The new Olympic Museum used film -m a k in g technology
to compose and choreograph the journey. And this works
very w ell, especially inside the interactive areas.
The museum started its renovation and rebirth with a
strategic paper, w hich had been called "W hite Paper",
encom passing 107 pages with around 300 possible ideas
fo r the future of the m useum . The paper was published
in Jan u a ry 2008.
All displays inside the m useum try to be perm anent,
but te m p o rary, w h ich m eans th at changes should be
frequently possible and flexibility ensured.
A m useum , w hich receives huge am oun t in tern atio ­
nal visitors, also needs international signage. Since the
Olympic Games in M unich 1972 th is challenge has been
resolved by u sin g picto gram s a n d th e new O lym pic
Museum offers a va riety of sign age em b lem s n ice ly
designed to help orientation. ■
1 Vision and mission statement of the Olympic Museum, in:
The Olympic Museum, the metamorphosis 2011*, p. 27)
2 Press kit "or the opening of the museum 2013, p. 3 .
3 Jacques Rogge, IOC Honorary President, in: The Olympic
Museum, p. 15.
k Ibid. Thomas Bach, IOC President, p. 14.
5 Francis Cabet, Director of the Olympic Museum, in: Press
kit. p. 5.
6 Press kit, p. 9 -
Facts and Figures
On io thDecember 2013, the keys of the IOC were handed
over to its new President Thomas Bach in the setting of the
new Olympic Museum. The permanent exhibition area was
doubled in size and span 3000 sqm with more than 1500
artefacts on display and a variety of interactive offers on
150 screens. The renovation works took 23 months and in ­
volved 70 companies with 600 to 800 people participat­
ing in the project. The new admission fee w ill be 18 CHF for
adults ard 10 CHF for children. A guided tour costs 180 CHF.
Last but not least some useful addresses:
The Olympic Museum, Quai d'O uchyi, CH-1001 Lausanne,
phone: +1*1 216216511
Website: www.olympic.org/museum
Social Media: w ww.facebook.com/theolympicmuseum
andTw iter: @olympicmuseum
Press: Pascale Bousquet pbousquet@ agendacom.com ,
phone: *3311*99508 06
Education: w ww .olym pic.org/schools, edu.m useum @
olympic.org
Olympic Studies Center: reference@olympic.orgearch with
ahum arities or social