Celebration in Paris honors Lausanne’s role in the Olympic movement
Published: Sunday, Jul 28th 2024, 15:10
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High-ranking guests celebrated the 30th anniversary of Lausanne's designation as Olympic capital at the Maison Suisse in Paris on Sunday. The event was attended by President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd and IOC President Thomas Bach, among others.
Among the hundred or so invitees were the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, representatives of the cantonal government of Vaud and the city government of Lausanne, as a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency reported on site.
In her speech, Amherd said that the anniversary showed the great solidarity of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the entire Olympic family with Switzerland. It was also proof of the great work done by the Lausanne and Vaud authorities to make the Olympic movement feel at home in Switzerland.
"I can assure you that these authorities in Bern are committed to your interests with unlimited energy," she said, addressing the IOC representatives. She hoped that Switzerland would remain a reliable partner for the IOC in the future.
"Ideal conditions"
For his part, Bach reaffirmed that the IOC was on friendly terms with the city of Lausanne. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, had found ideal conditions there thanks to Switzerland's political stability.
De Coubertin moved the headquarters and archives of the IOC from Paris to Lausanne in 1915. Finally, in 1994, the then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch offered Lausanne the title of Olympic capital.
In his speech, Bach drew a parallel between Switzerland's neutrality and that of the International Olympic Committee. It was only thanks to this political neutrality that athletes from all member countries could be brought together in Paris. They sent out the message that there is more that unites humanity than divides it.
Amherd, Bach and Hidalgo also signed a commemorative plaque to mark the anniversary.
©Keystone/SDA
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