Olympic cities take residence at Museum of London
30 May 2012
The World Union of Olympic Cities (WUOC) today announced that it is to hold its first ever WUOC House known as the London 2012 WUOC House-Maison UMVO Londres 2012 at the Museum of London for the duration of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
This deal makes the Museum of London the only cultural venue to have two partnerships of this type with official organisations at the heart of the Olympic movement: the WUOC at the Museum of London and Deutsches Haus at the Museum of London Docklands.
The World Union of Olympic Cities was founded by the city of Lausanne the Olympic capital and the city of Athens as the host city of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. While ‘Houses’ for national teams have been commonplace in past Olympics, the WUOC has never operated such a base. The WUOC mandated the ATLANTA DITC, The Legacy Institution of the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games that created the WUOC House concept to manage the London 2012 WUOC House.
The purpose of WUOC is to provide a platform for member cities that have either hosted the Olympic Games in the past or hope to in future with successful long term legacy planning as their shared goal.
For 17 days, the London 2012 WUOC House will serve as the exclusive hospitality for any of the 46 cities that either hosted the Olympic Games since 1896 or won the bid to host future Games (2014, 2016, and 2018). The London 2012 WUOC House will also be a forum for the Olympic Cities and the Olympic family to meet and exchange best practices, and discuss leadership in sports, sports competitions in Olympic cities, youth and sports, legacy of Olympic cities as well as the venue to display Olympic art work celebrating the Olympic Games. The inauguration will be celebrated during the Lausanne Olympic Capital reception attended by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.
It will take over the Museum of London’s recently renovated Terrace Rooms and Garden without any disruption to the Museum’s usual visitors.
David Spence, Interim Director of the Museum of London, said:
“We are delighted to welcome the World Union of Olympic Cities this summer. As the Museum of London reflects upon the historical significance of the London 2012 Olympic games there is a strong resonance between us and the World Union of Olympic Cities which studies the impact of the Olympic Games on host cities, particularly in terms of legacy.”
Mayor Daniel Brélaz, President of WUOC said:
“The Museum of London is the ideal venue for our first ever WUOC House-Maison UMVO. On one hand the Museum of London is a high quality, versatile venue in an ideal location. On the other hand there is nowhere more fitting to celebrate the Olympic legacy for host cities.”
Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Marc-Daniel Gutekunst, Co-Chairs of the ATLANTA DITC, The Legacy Institution of the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games said:
“The London 2012 WUOC House at the Museum of London will establish the template for the future WUOC Houses at the Sochi 2014, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games.”
Deutsches Haus, the base of the German National Olympic, is the largest ever corporate hire for the Museum of London. The Museum of London Docklands, will close from 9 July to 16 September to host Deutsches Haus, Team. For a limited time, visitors will be welcomed at Fan Fest, a celebration of German sport and culture. Further details to be announced.
Notes to Editors
1. For more information or images, please contact Andrew Marcus, Museum of London PR Manager, on +44 (0)7725 617856 or amarcus@museumoflondon.org.uk
2. For more information on the ATLANTA DITC, The Legacy Institution of the Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and the WUOC, please contact Richard Butcher, ATLANTA DITC Senior VP for Sports, International and Government Relations at rbutcher@ditc.us and visit www.olympiccities.org
3. Museum of London, Museum of London Docklands and Museum of London Archaeology seek to inspire a passion for London. The Museums are open daily 10am – 6pm and are FREE to all.
4. Explore the Museum of London with Collections online - home to over 12,000 objects with more being added.
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