The House of Switzerland is the official guesthouse of the Swiss Confederation, which is built, furnished and operated for the duration of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. It is the official meeting point of the Swiss Olympic Team and the venue for the official medal celebrations of the Swiss medalists. [1]
The tradition of the House of Switzerland goes back to 1998, when the House of Switzerland was first built for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, operated by the Swiss Olympic Association. The idea was to create a meeting point for the Swiss Olympic Team as well as the official Swiss delegations, but also for fans traveling from Switzerland. Over time, the House of Switzerland developed into a platform for Swiss public diplomacy. [1]
Since the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the House of Switzerland has been under the project management of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Within the FDFA, Presence Switzerland is responsible for the planning, implementation and execution of the concept for the House of Switzerland. [2]
A mobile House of Switzerland manufactured in Switzerland was erected for the first time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi. The spruce wood construction consists of 193 largely standardized elements that can be transported on fourteen semi-trailers or in containers. A further five trucks are needed to transport the interior fittings.
Four houses with two or three storeys and a total area of 730 m² are arranged in such a way that they form an inner courtyard of 66 m². The first floor houses a restaurant, a stage and exhibition rooms, the VIP and athletes' lounge are on the second floor and studios for television and radio are on the second floor. [3] The House of Switzerland is one of the few Houses of Nations at Olympic Games that is open to the public. [4]
After its first appearance in Sochi, the mobile building was used in a scaled-down version at the Giro del Gusto in Milan. In August 2014, it was used on Sechseläutenplatz in Zurich during the European Athletics Championships. [5]
For the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a two-storey pavilion, the Maison Suisse, was erected in the garden of the Swiss Embassy with a total area of 1000 m², which includes a bar, a restaurant, a music program and art installations by Geneva artists Laure Marville and Thomas Liu Le Lann. [6] [7]
The International Olympic Committee is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC is the authority responsible for organizing the Summer, Winter, and Youth Olympics. The IOC also is the governing body of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and of the worldwide Olympic Movement, the IOC's term for all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. As of 2020, 206 NOCs officially were recognized by the IOC. The IOC president has been Thomas Bach since 2013.
The Winter Olympic Games, also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After those games, the next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
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Joey Mantia is an American speed skater and inline speed skater, an Olympic bronze medalist, 28-time world champion, and a world record holder. He also won two gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. He won the American Speed Skater of the Year award three times in a row, in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and the 2007 Elmer Ringeisen Sportsmanship Award. In October 2010, after winning two world titles at the inline skating championships in Colombia, he was ranked second among male competitors in the USOC Athlete of the Month competition.
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Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at de:House of Switzerland; see its history for attribution.
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