Kerry Tours Olympic Museum

(ATR) IOC President Thomas Bach plays host to US Secretary of State John Kerry for a guided tour of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Kerry and other diplomats are at work in the Olympic City for the latest round of negotiations with Iran over a nuclear treaty. The Beau Rivage Hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva is the headquarters for the talks and the neighboring Olympic Museum is being used as the press center.

After opening the talks earlier in the week, Kerry returned to Lausanne for an update. More negotiations are expected in the next week.

According to a release from the IOC, Kerry "stressed the important role that Olympic sports play in understanding and reconciliation by keeping doors open regardless of political differences".

"President Bach explained that sport is always about building bridges, never about erecting walls. In order to accomplish this, he added, the IOC must be politically neutral without being apolitical," says the IOC text.

Insigning a guestbook Kerry wrote:

"The Olympic Movement is so powerful and from my earliest days I have followed each Olympic year with passion. This Movement transcends all politics and truly creates a sense of global possibility. Thank you for helping to break down barriers."

There is no word from the IOC as to whether the Secretary of State put in a good word for Boston to host the 2024 Olympics, although aphoto from the IOC appears to show Kerry pointing to 2024 on a timeline of Olympic cities. A former Massachusetts resident, he served five terms in the U.S. Senate and was the Democratic Party nominee for U.S. president in 2004.

The IOC does say that Kerry was interested in the displays about Olympic ceremonies and the Olympic Village. And a devotee of cycling, Kerry is sent to have enjoyed seeing the bikes on display in the museum.

Written by Ed Hula.

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