Co-hosted by the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, the Beijing Municipal Administration Centre of Parks and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and organised by the Beijing Summer Palace Administration, the “Olympic Journey Through Time – Exhibition on Past Olympic Summer Games” opened in the Summer Palace on 19 July ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The exhibition is also intended to mark the 40th anniversary of China’s first Olympic gold won by sharpshooter Xu Haifeng. Fu Xiaohui, Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, presented the “Olympic Spirit Ambassador” certificate to Xu Haifeng and declared the opening of the exhibition. Xavier Loustaunau, Cultural and Educational Cooperation Counsellor with the Embassy of France in China, gave a speech on behalf of Bertrand Lortholary, French Ambassador to China. Ji Chuanpai, Deputy Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, and Li Xiaoguang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Beijing Summer Palace Administration, delivered remarks on behalf of the host and organiser, respectively. Li Aibing, member of the Party Committee and deputy inspector of the Beijing Municipal Administration Centre of Parks, was also present at the event.

（A group photo of guests）

（Xiaohui presents the “Olympic Spirit Ambassador” certificate to Xu Haifeng）

（Fu Xiaohui declares the opening of the exhibition）

In his speech Xavier Loustaunau extended warm congratulations on the opening of the exhibition and introduced key highlights of the upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024. He stated that the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will distinguish itself from previous editions in several aspects. First, the Opening Ceremony will be staged on the river of the Seine instead of a stadium, and events will take place at iconic locations in some 20 cities across France. This will offer sports enthusiasts an opportunity to tour around the country’s scenic areas in addition to spectating the competitions. Second, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will exemplify inclusiveness, as it will, for the first time in history, see an equal number of men and women competing. Third, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will honour its commitment to environmental protection, aiming to halve carbon footprint compared to previous editions of the Olympic Games and offset unavoidable Games-related emissions.

（Xavier Loustaunau gives a speech）

Ji Chuanpai said in his speech that the exhibition is a specific measure to put into practice President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the management and utilisation of the Olympic legacy and the requirements of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality on fully tapping the Olympic legacy after the Beijing 2022 Games. The goal of the exhibition is to promote the integration of Olympic culture and traditional Chinese culture, strengthen the brand image of Beijing as the first city in the world to host both the summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games, and better disseminate the Olympic spirit and Olympic culture by fully leveraging the rich Olympic cultural resources of the IOC, the profound history and cultural heritage of the Summer Palace and the experience and advantages of BODA in carrying forward the Olympic legacy and adopting innovative and flexible approaches to the utilisation of the Olympic legacy. Ultimately, the exhibition aims to let more people benefit from Olympic legacy and promote mutual understanding and respect between different cultures.

（Ji Chuanpai gives a speech）

Li Xiaoguang introduced that the Summer Palace is a classical Chinese garden with rich memories of the Olympic Games, since it served as an important site on the torch relay routes of the Athens 2004, the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics, and the Beijing 2022 Games. The Summer Palace has hosted multiple Olympic cultural exhibitions, including the exhibition that opened today, in an effort to promote the Olympic spirit and spread the Olympic culture. Going forward, the Summer Palace will continue to fully leverage its cultural resources and global impact to promote the Olympic spirit, carry forward the Olympic legacy, and show global visitors the cultural connotations of China’s sports, tell Chinese sports stories well, spread China’s sporting spirit, and strive to harness the Olympic spirit and spread the Olympic culture.

（Li Xiaoguang gives a speech）

The fantastic exhibition draws a big crowd of visitors. Xu Haifeng, winner of China’s first Olympic gold, was also present at the exhibition. Standing in front of the photo of him being awarded a gold medal by then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, Xu Haifeng recalled the great moments of victory at the time. He said that as an “Olympic Spirit Ambassador”, he will continue to play his part in promoting the Olympic spirit and spreading the Olympic culture.

（Xu Haifeng speaks to reporters）

The exhibition has gained strong support from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. The museum has provided plenty of precious images and texts for the exhibition, and many of them even made their first appearance in China, most notably the photos of the Chinese delegation participating in the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics. Based on the materials provided by the IOC and the trajectory of the Chinese delegation at past Summer Olympic Games, the first phase of the exhibition features 219 images on 46 display boards. The exhibition presents the history of the modern Olympic Movement and showcases the characteristics, originality and great moments of the 29 editions of the Olympic Games from the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 to the 32nd Summer Olympics Tokyo 2020. It is also a retrospective on humanity’s endeavour to construe and carry forward the Olympic spirit.

（Visitors at the exhibition）

In the process of curation, particular attention was paid to holding a professional exhibition marked by a mix of the local and the global. In the early stage of curation, the Chinese and foreign sides communicated in detail on the curatorial concepts and carried out multiple rounds of coordination on the images and texts to be selected. Later, four expert meetings were organised to nail down the exhibits, and the meetings were attended by senior editors and sports reporters from central media outlets. The images on display were selected after meticulous search, comparison and verification to ensure their accuracy and appeal. Taking into account both the global reach of the Olympic Movement and local nuances, the exhibition focuses on presenting the highlights of Chinese athletes at the Olympic Games, thus arousing patriotic feelings in visitors and enhancing their affinity with the exhibition.

（Visitors at the exhibition）

According to the hosts of the exhibition, the exhibits will be updated in a timely manner following the opening of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, including information about the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the highlights of victory by the Chinese delegation. This will enable visitors to stay up to date and feel the passion and charm of the Olympic Movement. The exhibition will last until the closing of the Paris 2024 Paralympics on 8 September.

Miao Xiangliu, Director of the Service Management Department of the Beijing Municipal Administration Centre of Parks, attended the event. Wang Cheng, Director of the Media and Communications Department of the Beijing Olympic City Development Centre, presided over the Opening Ceremony.

（Wang Cheng presides over the Opening Ceremony）