Tuesday Talk - Olympic Museum Renewal

(ATR) Tucked into a hillside overlooking Lake Geneva, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne is closed for renovation.

Slated to reopen a year from now, the work on the 20-year-old museum involves behind-the-scenes improvements as well as changes to exhibit space and a new restaurant. Even the landscape around the museum will be different, with new pathways and features.

Overseeing the project is Olympic Museum Director Francis Gabet. He’s been director since 2003 after serving as marketing director for French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

Around the Rings Editor Ed Hula spoke with Gabet at his office in Lausanne about the big project.

Around the Rings: What is the progress? How it's going?

Francis Gabet:The contractual work began three years ago, the real ones, the physical work, if you mean, we closed in the end of January this year and we had one month to dismantle everything and to remove and then it began.

So we had to remove the library and the Olympic Studies Center. It was closed for three months, and it moved to where it now is nearby.

ATR: How will the museum be different inside?

FG: Inside, I think there are a lot of differences, but first there are big operational differences.

First, we are welcoming a lot of youth, a lot of school groups – about 30,000 every year – and didn’t have a dedicated spot for that, so we will have that. That’s the first thing.

In terms of operations, we had a big problem – the auditorium [capacity] was 176, but the restaurant was 120.

When the auditorium was full, we couldn’t welcome everybody and it was a bit busy, and at the time when we had the big groups – 50, 80, 100 people – who wanted to eat lunch, they had the priority for the restaurant and then no place for the usual visitors.

So now we will have a place for the groups with 170 seats and one restaurant a bit smaller – about 80 seats – for the general public, which is quite enough. So this is the second major change in terms of operation, and we also cover the terrace.

Because also the view is magnificent – you know, we are in Switzerland. In winter time, you can only use that very few days because winter is winter here and spring is spring.

And also during July and August, it’s really hot. So we covered it.

And then after that, you come to the big and major change – this is the permanent exhibitions. Due to the move of the Olympic Studies Center, the space dedicated to the permanent exhibition will rise from 2,000 to 3,000 square meters, so it allows us to introduce new topics.

Like the Olympic Village. We have 200 recordings or interviews with big champions, small champions and so on, but Olympians, just to say what Olympics changed in their lives. And you can meet them, and you can talk to them, and you can talk about their nutrition, and you can talk to them about the rules of the game, the fair play, the doping and so on.

It’s really like the visitor in the Olympic Village meeting athletes and learning about their lives and what could be the takeaway from that. It’s completely new.

ATR:And it sounds interactive?

FG: Yes, very, but everywhere there will be activity, so that’s why I didn’t underline ... for this part, there will be 158 screens or something like that.

Storytelling is a lot about images, so we try to have a better balance for the reopening.

That is very important for us. We want to use a lot of media, storytelling to talk about people. I have one criticism to make for the former exhibitions in the museum. We found that maybe the athletes, the Olympians and the spectators were a bit not there. We will try to speak about the people.

ATR: When will it be finished?

FG: I think we will open October 2013.

ATR: A year from now?

FG: Yes, a year from now. We want to give tribute in a way to President Jacques Rogge, and I think a time at the end of his presidency would be a perfect time to reopen.

ATR: Are you planning what your first exhibition will be at the new museum?

FG: We will do a soft opening, if you want. There will be the permanent exhibition and so on, and maybe in the gallery we will speak about this project.

It’s an interesting journey, so we will concentrate on that as well as a symposium to finish the 150th birthday of Pierre du Coubertin. To celebrate it, we thought it would be a good idea to finish it with the new museum. So that’s 2013, and after that it’s Sochi.

So you will have the permanent exhibition in one gallery, which will talk about what we call Sochi life. The plans, where the venues are, the photos of the venues, the things like that. To explain where the logo comes from, what is symbolic of the torch, of the medal and so on.

ATR: There are always Olympics. We’ve just finished London, so I guess items from London are starting to arrive. Are you collecting items from London?

FG: Another thing in the new museum that has been interesting is we’ve considered, is a permanent exhibition to be easier to renew. For example, with the new collected items in London we can put them quite easily in the display that we could not do before.

Regarding the collection in London, for instance, we have a team that goes to every Olympics, two or three people and they go there and ask for donations. Of course, some athletes give on the spot, but most of them say "Oh, I’ll come back" and now we are writing to them to say send your things for the moment, so I don’t have everything.

ATR: Do you need something from Michael Phelps?

FG: Oh yeah, we have.

ATR: What do you have from Michael Phelps?

FG: We have, but I don’t remember. And we have an interview from him. And also, we are discussing with the organizing committee to get some things from the opening and closing ceremonies and some items that could be iconic.

ATR: Are there any items that you don’t have in the museum from past Olympics or things that you are still looking for that you would like in the collection?

FG: No, no, no. There are not many, but after I will tell you, the price will get higher!

ATR: What about items from President Samaranch’s estate?

FG: His son and his daughter asked us to go into the two big warehouses he had in Barcelona.

ATR: That must have been something else to see

FG: It was his daughter, who said you better build the museum and leave the objects there!

We selected for items for us and also for other museums in the Olympic museum network.

C.K. Wu took a lot for his museum in China that will open next year. It was done in perfect coordination, so no problem and we managed everything, everybody was the same level because Mr. Wu had so many square meters to fill, he took the most and everything went smoothly, I hope, to the satisfaction of the family.

ATR: So there are no more warehouses?

FG: No, I think there is still one.

ATR: I hear you are becoming more involved with the IOC collectors’ commission. What’s involved there? What are you going to be doing?

FG:Well, in fact, for the moment it’s not precisely defined. We are discussing with the commission and our friends IOC Television and Marketing Services, since they were in charge.

In fact, let’s say the principle is the following: that the IOC TMS sets rates on marketing and commercial issues like the big problems of the organizing committees, and we manage more directly the cultural activities of the collectors. For the moment we are waiting for a new federation or association.

ATR: How is the ship, the boat working out for the temporary museum on the lakeshore of the museum?

FG: Not bad. Just as many visitors as the big one. I don’t want to give bad ideas to the IOC President to say "Oh, it’s enough", but we are reaching 140,000 visitors this year for the past five or six months. So it’s pretty good.

Conducted in Lausanne by Ed Hula. Transcribed by Aaron Bauer.