On 18 May 2025, the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Museum Day · Main Venue in China was held at the Beijing Grand Canal Museum. During the event, the Beijing Olympic Museum (BJOM) received a Special Award of the 22nd (2024) “Top Ten Museum Exhibitions” in China. Hou Ming, Director of BJOM, was awarded a certificate.

(Hou Ming holds the certificate)

(Live broadcast of the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Museum Day · Main Venue in China)

The event witnessed the announcement of six Special Awards, 10 Excellence Awards, 21 Winner Awards, and nine International and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Cooperation Awards and Nomination Awards.

The “Top Ten Museum Exhibitions” event is co-hosted by the Chinese Museum Association and China Cultural Heritage News under the guidance of the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China. It has been held 22 times since it was inaugurated in 1997 and become one of the prestigious awards in the field of displays and exhibitions in the museum sector, known as the “Oscars of the Chinese museum sector”. The event is held annually to recognise museums that stand out in displays and exhibitions. The awards are divided into several categories, including the Special Award, the Excellence Award, the Winner Award, the International and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Cooperation Award and the Nomination Award. Among them, the Special Award is the supreme award granted to several winners annually. There are 10 Excellence Awards and a number of Winner Awards every year.

The 22nd “Top Ten Museum Exhibitions” event kicked off on 22 January 2025. The preliminary review meeting was held in Beijing from 28 to 30 March. After review of application materials, group viewing of project videos, discussion and non-anonymous voting, the jury assessed 161 projects submitted nationwide and shortlisted the best. After approval by the National Cultural Heritage Administration, a total of 46 exhibitions were shortlisted for final review, including 36 domestic exhibitions, five inbound exhibitions and five outbound exhibitions. The final review meeting took place from 15 to 16 May. Hou Ming, Director of BJOM, and Tong Wen, a research fellow at BJOM and a women’s +78 kg judo champion at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, gave reports on behalf of the museum on the morning of 15 May. Hou made a presentation on the museum’s permanent exhibition, concluding with a video titled “Dual Olympic City: Together for a Better Future”. Tong Wen answered questions from experts on such topics as how Olympic champions help the museum improve the quality of exhibitions and bring to life the Olympic collections and stories. Tong said that in the future, she will give full play to her role as an Olympic champion and encourage more Olympic medallists to donate items to BJOM and participate in public education activities to support the museum’s development.

(Final review)

(Hou Ming makes a presentation)

(Tong Wen answers questions from experts)

Hou Ming stated that the special award is not only a testament to BJOM’s exceptional professionalism, scholarly merit, and significant social impact in its permanent exhibition, but also marks the museum’s success in creating Olympic-themed exhibitions that feature historical depth, cutting-edge technology, rich cultural heritage, and active public participation. The professionalism of these exhibitions has been acknowledged by industry experts. Following the guidelines of President Xi Jinping’s speech at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics review and awards ceremony, BJOM will continue to make the most of the Olympic legacy, present to the world the achievements in the new era, further tap the value of the “dual Olympic city” and carry forward the spirit of Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022. It will serve as an important venue to promote fitness for all, advocate new lifestyles, support cultural-ethical advancement, and provide more and higher-quality public cultural services for visitors. At the same time, the museum will fully implement the pilot reform in the first batch of cultural and heritage institutions and continuously unleash its creativity and vitality to benefit the people.

(Hou Ming speaks in a media interview)

BJOM is located on the ground floor and first basement in the south of the National Stadium in the Beijing Olympic Park Central Area, at the north end of the Beijing Central Axis. It is a permanent Olympic themed museum and an important window to present the image of China in the new era, showcase the features and charm of Beijing as the dual Olympic city, and promote domestic and international sports and cultural exchanges. The museum has a floor space of 26,000 square metres and an exhibition area of 19,000 square metres. It was established in 2009 and joined the Olympic Museums Network in 2022. After the Beijing 2022 Games, four indoor and outdoor renovation projects were completed at the end of 2023, improving the museum’s display and experience functions, education and research functions, international communication functions and service functions. In February 2024, BJOM reopened to the public with a new look.

(The facade of BJOM)

Leveraging its unique proximity to Olympic venues, BJOM adopts an integrated development strategy with the Dual Olympic Square and explores a new operational model of museum-park integration, with the two complementing and enhancing each other. The outdoor Dual Olympic Square features an installation of the Olympic rings, the snowflake sculpture of the Beijing 2022 Games, the national flag of China and the Olympic flag, making it a favourite place for visitors to take pictures. Located near the museum’s main entrance, the Dual Olympic Courtyard has Olympic-themed reliefs on both sides, which forms an “outdoor theatre” together with the newly built cascading waterscape and the stairs. A truly ingenious design is that the tree landscape and the stairs combined take the shape of the Morse code of “Olympic”. This innovative design seamlessly blends iconic Olympic elements with people’s daily lives, creating a dynamic and engaging environment for museum tours and leisure activities alike.

(The snowflake sculpture on the Dual Olympic Square)

Themed “Dual Olympic City: Together for a Better Future”, the museum’s permanent exhibition is composed of three parts, namely, “Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022”, “Memories of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008” and “Beijing, the Dual Olympic City”. It gives a full picture of China’s journey from bidding to the staging of Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022 and demonstrates the profound impact of the two editions of the Olympic Games on the host city, as well as China’s contributions to the Olympic Movement. It also presents the tenacious spirit and touching stories of athletes around the world. The exhibition is primarily arranged around the milestones of Beijing 2008 and Beijing 2022, featuring 1,281 exhibits, 880 images, over 60 multimedia videos. Through diverse forms such as scene replica, multimedia model, display without protective enclosures and large sculptures, the exhibition comprehensively presents the glorious journey from the bidding and preparation to the staging of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games and the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

(Part One “Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022” of the permanent exhibition)

(Immersive experience theatre)

(Foldable LED display showing highlights of the Beijing 2022 Games)

( “Engaging 300 Million People in Winter Sports” exhibition area)

(Torches of the Beijing 2022 Games)

The exhibition has so far received 1.53 million visits, including 203 government/institutional groups and 80 international tour groups.. A total of 15 international youth cultural exchange events have been held. Since the opening of the museum, 1,524 visitor questionnaires have been collected, with a satisfaction rate of 99.7%. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), visited BJOM on 20 February 2025. The IOC President said he was delighted to come to the museum to relive the fond memories of the two exceptional Olympic Games China delivered to the world. He added that the country can be proud of having the museum. On 24 April 2025, Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), took a tour of the museum and left a message in the guestbook, reading “Incredible Games! Incredible memories! Incredible museum!”

(Thomas Bach visits BJOM)

(International youth exchange event)

(Playing fou drums for neuroenhancement in celebration of the 2024 International Olympic Day)

(Parent-child environment protection themed games celebrating the 2024 International Olympic Day)

(Youth Olympic camp marking the 2024 International Olympic Day)

(“The Olympic Mission of Cuties” event marking the 2025 International Museum Day)

(Reading salon of Olympic friends in celebration of the 2024 International Museum Day）