Much has been said about "Match," the exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris dedicated to the link between design and sport, as well as its unique curation by Konstantin Grcic, who exceeded expectations with his ability to narrate sports innovation both in its social and performance facets and through the dizzying impact of artificial intelligence. However, the cultural offerings of the French capital dedicated to the upcoming Olympic Games are much broader, extending to other museum institutions generally associated with the fields of art and architecture.
All the exhibitions dedicated to the Olympics you can view in Paris
As the city prepares for the sporting competitions, the Olympic Games are taking over the museums. An opportunity to engage with both geopolitical issues and topics related to architecture and design.
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© Gay Games
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© Véronique Paul, photographe / SCAU Architecture
Molitor, Paris (16th arrondissement), 1922
Félix Dumail, architect
Aerial perspective of the athletic stadium, n.d.
© Paris, City of Architecture and Heritage, Archives Center
of contemporary architecture, SIAF, Félix Dumail funds
Henri Ploquin, architect
View of the main entrance, June 1937
Attributed to Marcel de Renzis (1910-1998), photographer
Modern print, 2024
© Marseille, Archives municipales, 89Fi101
Raoul Jourde, architect; Jacques Boistel d’Welles, architect municipal; Egidio Dabbeni, engineer
View of the stadium entrance, n.d.
© Paris, City of Architecture and Heritage, Archives Center of contemporary architecture, SIAF, Architecture Exhibition fund French SADG 1939
Tony Garnier (1869-1948), architect
Plate taken from L’Architecture vivant, spring-summer 1932,
Paris, éditions Albert Morancé
© Paris, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, musée des
Monuments français
Model of the grandstand of honor, n.d. International Model, maquettiste
© Bérangère Lomont / Paris, Cité de l’architecture et du
patrimoine, musée des Monuments français, dépôt de la Ville de
Paris / direction du Patrimoine et de l’Architecture
© Bérangère Lomont / Paris, Cité de l’architecture et du
patrimoine, musée des Monuments français, dépôt de la Ville de
Paris / direction du Patrimoine et de l’Architecture
© Pascal Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Paavo Nurmi Turku
© Studio Y. Langlois – Lalique Museum
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- Giulia Zappa
- 10 July 2024
The Palais de la Porte Dorée, an old institution originally created to celebrate the grandeur of French colonial power and now converted into the Museum of Immigration, presents "Olympisme, une histoire de monde" (Olympism, a World History). This fascinating retrospective explores the history of the games and their various editions. Visiting the exhibition is a valuable opportunity to reconstruct all the key points of the Olympic format, which has changed significantly over just over a century, transforming from an elitist gathering for white males to a globalized event open to diversity. The exhibition also discusses geopolitical turning points and related hegemonic tensions, and how these are reflected in the choreography of the opening ceremonies, uniforms, and graphics. From Berlin, Munich, Moscow, and Seoul, the 20th-century history unfolds progressively to today's issues: the high costs, environmental impact, and mass public participation are still acceptable, or should the format be reconsidered?
Alla Cité de l’Architecture, dall’altro capo della città, è invece l’architettura degli stadi ad essere messa sotto le lenti di ingrandimento. Il était une fois les stades racconta la trasformazione di questi edifici dal modello dello stadion greco, uno spazio vuoto dotato di tribuna, fino al complesso dispositivo contemporaneo capace di orchestrare competizione, divertimento di massa, dispositivi di sicurezza e necessità mediatiche. In Francia, l’allargamento della pratica sportiva iniziato negli anni ’20 favorisce la proliferazione di stadi in tutto il Paese. L’occasione è propizia per una grande effervescenza architettonica che sperimenterà soluzioni strutturali aerodinamiche, nuove coperture, insieme a nuove occasioni di comfort. Tornando agli imminenti giochi di Parigi 2024, l’altra mostra della Cité de l’Architecture, Quand la ville se prend aux jeux, presenta i risultati della nona edizione del concorso Mini Maousse dedicato alla progettazione di architetture effimere, tra convivialità ed esercizio fisico, destinate alla fruizione sportiva dei giochi olimpici. Pensati come un’opportunità inclusiva per avvicinare chi non assisterà alle gare né avrà accesso alle fan zones di Parigi, i quattro progetti selezionati saranno installati nei comuni più periferici dell’Île-de-France.
At the Cité de l’Architecture, on the other side of the city, the architecture of stadiums is under scrutiny. "Il était une fois les stades" (Once Upon a Time in the Stadiums) recounts the transformation of these buildings from the Greek stadion model, a simple empty space with stands, to the contemporary complex capable of orchestrating competition, mass entertainment, security devices, and media coverage. In France, the expansion of sports practice that began in the 1920s led to the proliferation of stadiums across the country. This period was ripe for significant architectural experimentation with aerodynamic structural solutions, new coverings, and new opportunities for comfort. Looking ahead to the upcoming Paris 2024 Games, another exhibition at the Cité de l’Architecture, "Quand la ville se prend aux jeux" (When the City Gets into the Games), presents the results of the ninth edition of the Mini Maousse competition dedicated to designing ephemeral architectures, between conviviality and physical exercise, intended for enlarging the participation to the Olympic Games. Designed as an inclusive opportunity to bring those who will not attend the events or access the fan zones in Paris closer, the four selected projects will be installed in the most peripheral municipalities of Île-de-France.
Spyridon Louis,the first Olympic marathon champion during the Olympic Games from Athens in 1896, in traditional costume
Jesse Owens competing in the high jump at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Olympisme. Une histoire du monde
Monte Carlo Women's Olympics, 1920
1924 – Silent Games in Paris. Paul Reinmund wins the 200 meters in athletics at the International Games of Silent Athletes from 10 to 17 August 1924
Giochi olimpici in Messico, 1968. Tommie Smith (medaglia d'oro) e John Carlos (medaglia di bronzo) alzano il pugno in riferimento al Black Panther Party. L'australiano Peter Norman, medaglia d'argento, indossa per solidarietà un distintivo del Olympic Project for Human Rights.
Jeux Olympiques de Montréal (1976) - The gymnast roumaine Nadia Comăneci obtained the note de 10/10, a premiere in the history of the Jeux Olympiques
1982 Gay Olympics. Poster of the first Gay Games, in the foreground Tom Waddell, initiator of the movement
The sites of the 2004 Olympic Games are now abandoned and banned from access. Des agents de sécurité contrôlent leur accès nuit et jour / Le stade de Volleyball. Omnisports Magazine reportage in 2021.
Olympisme. Une histoire du monde
Olympisme. Une histoire du monde
Olympisme. Une histoire du monde
Olympisme. Une histoire du monde
Il était une fois les stades, Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris
Il était une fois les stades, Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris
Stade Orange Vélodrome, Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), 2010-2014. SCAU Architecture, mandataire ; Didier Rogeon, associated architect
of contemporary architecture, SIAF, Félix Dumail funds
Ideas competition for the stadium of the VIII Olympiad, gate
Molitor, Paris (16th arrondissement), 1922
Félix Dumail, architect
Aerial perspective of the athletic stadium, n.d.
Modern print, 2024 © Marseille, Archives municipales, 89Fi101
Sports park, Marseille stadium-velodrome (Bouches-du-Rhône), 1935-1937
Henri Ploquin, architect
View of the main entrance, June 1937
Lescure Park, municipal stadium (today Chaban stadium-Delmas), Bordeaux (Gironde), 1933-1938
Raoul Jourde, architect; Jacques Boistel d’Welles, architect municipal; Egidio Dabbeni, engineer
View of the stadium entrance, n.d.
Monuments français
Stade de Gerland, Lyon (Rhône), 1913-1926
Tony Garnier (1869-1948), architect
Plate taken from L’Architecture vivant, spring-summer 1932,
patrimoine, musée des Monuments français, dépôt de la Ville de
Paris / direction du Patrimoine et de l’Architecture
Stade Charléty, Paris, 1989-1994, Henri et Bruno Gaudin, architects
Model of the grandstand of honor, n.d.
International Model, maquettiste
© Bérangère Lomont / Paris, Cité de l’architecture et du
patrimoine, musée des Monuments français, dépôt de la Ville de
Paris / direction du Patrimoine et de l’Architecture
Renovation of the Gerland stadium, Lyon (Rhône), 1996-1998, Albert Constantin, architect; René Provost, consulting architect. View of a covered grandstand
Quand la ville se prend aux jeux:: « Box-Out », Defne Elver, Charlotte Mallet et Andréa Vinzant, lauréats 2024
Quand la ville se prend aux jeux:: « Marché du sport », Marieus Entemeyer, Fiona Larrive et Antonin Palabaud, lauréats 2024
Quand la ville se prend aux jeux: « La Navette », de Martin Lichtig, 1er prix, lauréat 2024
« D’or, d’argent, de bronze. Une histoire de la médaille olympique », Monnaie de Paris: Gold medal of the Games of the VIII Olympiad, Paris (1924) won by Paavo Nurmi (Finland) Gilded silver - André Rivaud Private collection (Finland)
« D’or, d’argent, de bronze. Une histoire de la médaille olympique », Monnaie de Paris: Medals from the Albertville Winter Olympics – 1992, Collection Lalique SA