Great Olympic moments come to life at new exhibit o Olympic artifacts from the IOC museum in Switzerland

There are a lot of questionable exhibits being held around Beijing as part of the warm up to the Olympics. The migrant worker art exhibit and the disabled person sculpture show being a few of the more notoriously dismissable. But the exhibit of Olympic artifacts culled from the International Olympics Museum in Lausanne scheduled for August 8-15 at the National Exhibition Center is one not to miss. Great Olympic moments are etched in the global collec tive unconscious: an underdog athlete who won an unexpected gold, the Olympic favorite who crashed out on the final lap, the wacky mascots, the medals mo ments and, of course, the lighting of the Olympic torch. For the first time, Beijingers will relive those memories at the IOC Olympic Treasure Exhibition, the first time this exhibit has left Europe. It will make a China-wide sweep, stop ping in 12 cities, and it has the whole country talking.

"It’s definitely on my list of things to see," says Beijinger Pei Xixia. Adds American student Even Pay, "It’s not every day that you get a chance to see all of the Olympic torches side by side. It’ll be interesting to see how the torches reflect the cultural backgrounds of the countries and time periods that they come from."

But the exhibition is not just torches. All told there will be more than 700 artifacts highlighted by a complete collection of gold medals from every Olympics since their modern inception. Artifacts span from the ancient origins of the Olympics (Greek bronzes and potteries) to
modern iconographies (official Olympic posters). Even the ubiquitous fuwas make an appearance.

Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, okayed the exhibit as a way to spread the Olympic spirit to the world’s most populated nation, saying in a recent interview, “The exhibition brings the Olympic Museum to China for the first time and demonstrates the core Olympic value to Chinese people." Expats have been just as keen. As American Bobby Gubitz points out, "Ordinarily I would have to travel to Switzer land, but now I get a chance to see it here."

Through this evocative exhibit, expats and locals alike, relive the moments that shaped our idea of “international.” And embracing the nostalgia of Games past will give everyone a feeling of pride knowing they're participating in this grand tradition in real-time here in Beijing. -ER

THE DETAILS

IOC Olympic Treasure Exhibition China Tour

August 8-15

National Exhibition Center