On its way from Olympia to Brazil, the Olympic flame will be stopping off in Lausanne. For all those with a burning desire to find out more about this flame, you can go to The Olympic Museum for a special event of free activities being held this weekend, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 2016.
From Olympia, where it is lit, to the stadium in the host city, the Olympic flame marks the approach of each edition of the Games through the ritual of the torch relay. On Thursday 21 April, the flame for the Rio 2016 Games was lit in Olympia. It has been traveling around Greece and then, before leaving for Brazil, it will make a brief stopover in Switzerland!
On Friday 29 April 2016, it will be presented at the UN headquarters in Geneva, before heading to The Olympic Museum in the afternoon, via the lake, carried in its safety lamp – on a rowing boat. A nod to the sport much loved by Pierre de Coubertin!
A ceremony will be held in its honour in the presence of IOC President Thomas Bach, Rio 2016 Organising Committee President Carlos NUZMAN and various personalities from the canton and commune invited for the occasion.
On Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, the general public can discover the flame which will light up the Games in Rio this summer. It will burn in the Rio 2016 cauldron installed at the Museum entrance. As such, it will join the Olympic fire which burns constantly under the benevolent gaze of Pierre de Coubertin’s statue. The flame will then head off towards Brasilia at the end of the day on Monday 2 May.
The last time the Olympic flame was in Lausanne was during the relay for the Games in Athens in 2004; and before that it was for the 1948 Games in London. In both cases, it was part of the official relay, with torches and torchbearers. This year, it is a flame presentation.
To mark this great first, The Museum is organising an event weekend open to everyone. The programme includes a special exhibition, mini-visits of the flame and relay, creative workshops, film screenings and concerts. All this will be free of charge, with no need to reserve beforehand (except for the brunches).
“The flame at The Museum” Event Weekend Programme:
An exhibition devoted to the torch relay, starting on 18 April – Olympic Park
See it in the Park, starting on 18 April 2016. This exhibition, composed of 40 photo panels with captions, recounts some of the highlights of the different torch relays. Learn about how the flame travelled by Native American canoe in Canada, by camel in Australia, by gondola in Venice, under the sea at the Great Barrier Reef, etc. One torch actually went into space with an astronaut. Seemingly fearless, the flame even enjoys parachute jumps!
“Flame Special” mini-visits on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For all those with a burning desire to find out more about the flame and its torches, mini- visits lasting from 20 to 25 minutes are being organised by the TOM coaches: What is it? How does it work? What is it for? Starting with the example of the Rio 2016 flame, the visits explore the relay section in the permanent exhibition area. The visits start every hour between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Meet in the entrance hall (level 0 in front of the Rio 2016 torch). There is also a special flame quiz. Can the children answer all the questions?
Creative workshops, every hour non-stop between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. – Gym (level 0) Length ~ 1 hour.
Make your own Olympic torch using recycled materials! Big versions or lapel badge size, the only thing that matters is taking part!
The flame in moving images
Images of the lighting of the Rio 2016 flame at Olympia – Galerie (level +2)
Spend a few minutes reliving the highlights of the lighting and the speech by IOC President Thomas Bach.
Find out more about the torch relay and its history - Olympia (level 0)
A film produced by The Olympic Museum which, in around 15 minutes, will tell you all about the symbolism, history and origins of the torch relay. Did you know that the flame has already travelled by bike, plane, train, on skis – and even underwater without going out?
Still on the theme of the flame, two premieres of films by two leading Brazilian directors are planned:In line with the relay theme, films and music will also be on the programme:
The Boy and the World by Alê Abreu (2014) (Original version with French subtitles) - Saturday 30 April 2016 in the Auditorium, from 10.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (no charge) A boy leaves his village to go in search of his father, and discovers an incredible world dominated by animal-machines and strange creatures. A lyrical and dreamlike journey, which cleverly illustrates the problems of the modern world. This film won the feature film Cristal award and the Audience award at the Annecy Animated Film Festival in 2014. It was also a 2016 Oscars nominee in the “Best Animated Feature” category.
The Violin Teacher by Sergio Machado (2015) (Original version with French subtitles) - Sunday 1 May 2016 in the Auditorium, from 10.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (no charge) Inspired by the true story of the creation of the Heliopolis Symphony Orchestra, the film tells the moving story of a musician and his pupils, whose lives were transformed by music.
Music
Bossa nova concerts with Jacques and Paula Morelenbaum.
Jaques and Paula Morelenbaum were members of the Nova Banda for 10 years with Tom Jobim. They pay tribute to two great names in bossa nova, Vinicus de Moraes and Tom Jobim. Two concerts which are sure to get the audience tapping their feet!
Tribute to Vinicius de Moraes - Saturday 30 April from 4.30 to 5.30 p.m. in the Art-Lounge., level -1
Vinicius de Moraes is a key figure in contemporary Brazilian music. As a poet, he wrote the words of numerous songs that have become classics. He is also the co-author of more than 400 songs, including a few jazz standards and a number of traditional Brazilian songs. A very dynamic character who encouraged many artists to get involved in quality popular songs, his name, Vinicius, has been given to the mascot of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
Tribute to Tom Jobim – Sunday 1 May from 4.30 to 5.30 p.m. in the Art-Lounge., level -1
Tom Jobim is the Brazilian musician who co-founded the bossa nova style. He composed a number of songs that remain both classics of Brazilian popular music and jazz standards. The mascot of the Paralympic Games Rio 2016 was named in his honour.
Musical brunches on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 2016 at the TOM café from 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. with Jurandir Santana and Gabriel Grossi (MPB-pop music) – Reservation required*
Born in Salvador de Bahia, Jurandir Santana devotes his life to the music of Brazil. His eighth album, entitled Um Segundo (One Second), has just come out. He has worked with some of the top Brazilian composers and singers, such as Hermeto Pascoal, Chico Buarque, Ivan Lins, Leila Pinheiro, João Donato, Dave Matthews, Guinga, Lenine, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Dominguinhos, Maria Bethania, Ney and Hamilton de Holanda.
*Reserve by calling the TOM café: + 42 21 621 67 08, CHF 39 per person.
Take advantage of this event weekend to visit our two exhibitions:
- Destination Rio: the Games (Galerie + Park) (level +2)
The exhibition takes visitors into the heart of the Games atmosphere with its Rio 2016 coloured scenography 2016. A film and what you need to know about Rio 2016, Games for the future.
- Destination Rio: Rhythms and Diversity (level +1)
A guided visit to the heart of Brazilian culture, through music, dance, popular festivals and sport.
Find out more about Destination Rio here.
You can view the full program of activities by downloading the press release or by visiting this web page.
The Olympic Museum
Quai d'Ouchy 1
1006 Lausanne – Switzerland
021 621 65 11
Open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From 15 October to 1 May: from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(closed on Mondays). http://www.olympic.org/musee
