MARKUS OSTERWALDER’s passion for the Olympic Movement began during his graphic design studies in Switzerland. A visit to the Olympic Library in Lausanne in 1990 sparked a lifelong dedication to building an extensive archive of Olympic books, images, and memorabilia. Since attending the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Games, Markus has traveled to every edition of the Games, capturing photographs, collecting souvenirs, and collaborating with designers.
In 2009, he was appointed to lead the “Olympic Memorabilia Project,” a global initiative supported by Olympic collectors. His expertise has led to curating several notable exhibitions, including Would it be utopian to dream of a universal language? in Rio during the 2016 Games and OLYMPIC LANGUAGE – EXPLORING THE LOOK OF THE GAMES at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne (2017-2018). In 2019, he published the groundbreaking book “OLYMPIC GAMES – THE DESIGN”, a 1600-page compendium covering the visual identity of the Games from Athens 1896 to Tokyo 2020, featuring over 200 designers. The exhibition was later shown in Tokyo during the 2021 Games. Markus is currently working on a new book about the design of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to be released in early 2025.
For more information, visit: www.theolympicdesign.com