9 January 2022

Olympic posters for the exploration of artistic, political and social developments exhibited at the website paris2024.org and in the streets of the French capital

While the world looks forward to the next Olympic Winter Games 2022 Beijing which will begin on 4 February, the capital city of France is already in preparation for the next Olympic Summer Games 2024 Paris. At paris2024.org/en/history-of-the-games/ and the currently running exhibition at the railings of the Town Hall in Paris, posters of the Olympic Summer Games are displayed with information about the artists and description of the artworks. At the website, the gallery starts with the poster of the Summer Games 1900 in Paris showing a woman fencer (above, first image from left). The poster is described with closer details such as the name of the artist Jean de Paléologue, the outfit, sports gear of the athlete, and what makes the poster historically extraordinary as it was not only uncommon at that time to feature sports women on posters; "...no women took part in the Olympic fencing events in 1900." According to the venue map 2024, fencing will happen at the Grand Palais which is known internationally as a location for luxurious fashion shows.

At the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad exhibition at the Town Hall, selected Olympic Summer Games posters such as by David Hockney for the exploration of the artistic, political and social developments over decades are displayed until 1 February 2022. "The Olympic posters are a visual depiction of the history and socio-cultural identity of each edition of the Olympic Games. Many of these non-conformist posters are now part of a remarkable artistic legacy associated with the Olympic Games, and have become iconic cultural works in their own right," is Angelita Teo, Director of the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage (OFCH) cited at olympics.com/ioc/news/paris-2024-cultural-olympiad-new-olympic-poster-exhibition-in-the-streets-of-the-french-capital.

Images: Three posters (from left: Paris 1900, artist Jean de Paléologue; Paris 1924, artist Jean Droit; 'Peace Roo' poster for Sydney 2000, artist David Lancashire) from the selection of Olympic posters on view from 5 January - 1 February 2022 at the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad exhibition in the streets of the French capital. Photo: © IOC.