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, called Maison Suisse, was erected in the garden of the Hôtel de Besenval, the seat of the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation since 1938, with a total area of 1000 m², which included a bar, a restaurant, a music program and art installations by Geneva artists Laure Marville (* 1990) and Thomas Liu Le Lann (* 1994). [6] [7]
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.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
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Tobias Wendl is a German luger who has competed since 1993, acting as a front. He won a silver medal in the men's doubles event at the 2008 FIL World Luge Championships in Oberhof, Germany, a silver and a bronze at the FIL European Luge Championships 2010 in Sigulda, a gold at the FIL World Luge Championships 2013, and two gold medals at his debut Winter Olympics at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He is also a Master Sergeant in the German Army.
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February. A total of 2,873 athletes from 88 nations participated in 98 events in 7 sports across 15 different disciplines.
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The Sirius Autodrom, known before 2024 as Sochi Autodrom and originally as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a 5.848 km (3.634 mi) permanent race track in the settlement of Sirius next to the Black Sea resort city of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.
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Speed skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Adler Arena, Sochi, Russia, between 8 and 22 February 2014.
Biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The eleven events took place between 8–22 February 2014.
Switzerland competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February 2014. 163 athletes were participating, making it the largest team Switzerland has ever sent to the Olympic Winter Games. The four-time Olympic gold medalist Simon Ammann was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
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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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