Thaindian News

London, July 28 (IANS) Behind the great spectacle of the Olympic Games lie many a human tale of personal triumph and inspirational achievements — and the Royal Opera House and the Olympic Museum have come together to tell those stories through an exhibition which started here Saturday.

The exhibition titled “The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games” will be staged at the Royal Opera House for the duration of the Olympic Games and is part of the London 2012 Festival, organisers said.

It showcases some of the incredible artefacts and images from The Olympic Museum in Lausanne and tells the story of the Olympic Games from its creation in 776 BC through to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The inspirational sojourn starts in ancient Greece, the original home of the Olympic Games and culminates with talking about revival of the Games through the efforts of Pierre de Coubertin — revered as the ‘father of the modern Olympic Games’.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland houses permanent and temporary exhibits relating to sport and the Olympic movement. With more than 10,000 pieces, the museum is the largest archive of Olympic Games in the world.

The exhibition free and open to all, will exhibit personal stories of 16 great Olympians including iconic American athlete Jesse Owens and hockey legend and India’s own Balbir Singh.

The exhibition will also feature all of the Olympic medals and Torches of the modern Games.

The stories of the representative 16 athletes are told through interviews, historic footage, photographs and artefacts. Each story tells of human strength and endeavour, of passion, determination, hard work and achievement.