The exhibition “Twelve days when we were the center of the world”, which was organized by the Sarajevo Historical Archive on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the 14th Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, opened yesterday in the Sarajevo Olympic Museum.
This unusual display of archival materials, valuable exhibits and written documents is one of a series of events that evoke memories of the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics, and at the same time nurtures the Olympic spirit of the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
As the director of the Sarajevo Historical Archive, Ismeta Dzigal-Berkovac, pointed out on that occasion, the displayed archival material represents a retrospective of everything that happened in the preparation of the organization and the very realization of one of the world’s largest events.
She said that archival documents bear witness to the great effort and success in building the necessary infrastructure in a short time, which sent a magnificent image of Sarajevo to the world.
Messages of similar content were sent by the director of the Sarajevo Olympic Museum, Senka Ibrisimbegovic, expressing satisfaction with the organization of the exhibition in partnership with the Historical Archive, underlining how it testifies to the days when Sarajevo was the center of the world in promoting civilizational values, the Olympic spirit and the spirit of community, which the capital of BiH still preserves today.
She announced that the digitization of all documents and archival materials related to the 14th Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo will be started, reminding that the doors of the Olympic Museum are open to all visitors, and that in addition to the contents of the exhibition, they can gain an insight into the permanent and rich museum display.
Archivist and one of the authors of the exhibition, Armin Dzunuzovic, said that the current exhibition contains part of the oeuvre inherited by the Historical Archive, i.e. twelve panels that symbolize the number of days of the Olympic Games.
He added that the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo is a permanent inspiration for all those who care about the values it promotes and inherits.
The Winter Olympic Games were held in Sarajevo from February 8th to 19th, 1984. A total of 1,272 competitors from 49 countries competed in six sports at the Games. These Games have been marked as one of the best organized Winter Olympic Games in history. The choice of Sarajevo as the host city of the 14th Olympic Games was announced on May 18th, 1978, during the 80th session of the International Olympic Committee in Athens. The city’s opponents were the Japanese city of Sapporo and the Swedish city of Gothenburg.
The exhibition in the premises of the Sarajevo Olympic Museum will be open to visitors until February 29th, and its organization was supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Canton Sarajevo (CS), the Sarajevo Olympic Museum – Sarajevo City Museums, the Olympic Committee of BiH, the CSTourist Board.
