Museum of Modern Olympic Games at Olympia to reopen

By Philip Barker

Ancient Olympia’s museum of the Modern Olympic Games is to reopen this autumn after extensive renovation works.

The doors had been closed since 2010, but following an agreement with the Hellenic Olympic Committee in 2018 for the “restoration and upgrading of the museum,” work began on the site. This has continued despite the pandemic.

“We have advanced with renovation projects, obeying the requirements of the times, which want us to add new experiences to what the visitor of the new era is looking for.” said Olympia’s mayor Georgios Georgiopoulos.

“The museum’s valuable exhibits will be re-exhibited in a modern way, combined with multimedia information and audiovisual material. It is one of the best museums of its kind and its projection gives an interesting dimension to the history of the world Olympic movement.”

The museum was originally established in 1961 and comprised the stamp and memorabilia collection of George Papastefanou. It was housed in an old school building in Olympia, but later moved to a specially constructed building.

Papastefanou bequeathed his collection to the Hellenic Olympic Committee and subsequently became the museum’s director. He extended the display to include Olympic torches and even the machine used to transmit the flame by electronic pulse from Athens to Canada for the 1976 Games.

Charalampos Spiliopoulos, Olympia’s Vice Mayor for Sport, Culture, Tourism, Olympic and International issues hopes the museum will “offer the opportunity to introduce its visitors to the values of Olympism, the values that Olympia represents.”

“The citizens of Ancient Olympia share a special relationship with the Olympic ideal and, sharing a common vision with the Hellenic Olympic Committee, have accomplished the start of the project of restoration and reopening of the Museum.”

A panel of experts have supervised the inventory of exhibits for the reopening.

This is expected to include medals, certificates, tickets and other original artifacts and documents from the 1896 and  1906 Olympic Games staged in Athens.

It is also likely to include the casket used to transport the heart of Pierre de Coubertin to Olympia in 1938 before it was interred in a memorial stele close to the ancient site.

There will also be information on the Zappas Olympic Games staged in Athens from 1859 to 1889.

The original stamp collection donated by Papastefanou will also return.

The reopening coincides with the 60th anniversary celebrations at the International Olympic Academy which has also undergone extensive renovations.

“The operation of the museum will significantly contribute to the strengthening of the educational role of the International Olympic Academy, which has been operating in Olympia since 1961, thus strengthening the effort to spread the Olympic values ​​and Olympic education internationally,” said the municipality.