Rugby balls and a Mexican costume: the first donations from Paris 2024

Starting off with a bang, the Heritage Acquisitions Team in Paris have collected their first items, which will be added to the collection in Lausanne:

A dress worn by one of the priestesses during the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony in April 2024 in Olympia – a donation from the Hellenic Olympic Committee. With the advent of a new high priestess, the dress with a tight bodice and a pleated skirt featuring an Ionic column motif has been redesigned and is now two-tone – black and white – as opposed to the monochrome white or light blue costumes of the past.

Items from the kit for the Belgian delegation, donated by Alexa Fairchild, a dressage rider and fashion designer: leggings and a bra top, cycling gear and a tracksuit. Alexa worked with the Belgian Olympic Committee on designing the team’s clothing, which includes the motif “Embrace”, formed of intertwined ribbons in the black, yellow and red colours of the Belgian flag, inspired by its coat of arms and the country's motto “Unity Makes Strength”. The motif refers to the celebration of triumphs but also comfort in defeat, while the ribbons are meant to indicate support and connection, as well as flexibility, speed and medals.

An outfit worn by the Mexican delegation during the Opening Ceremony, donated by the Mexican Olympic Committee. The team wore white street-style jackets decorated with black symbols and patterns to pay tribute to some of Mexico’s most iconic cities.

An archery target signed by Sihyeon Lim (KOR), after she set a new world record during the ranking round of the women’s team competition – a donation from World Archery. The Republic of Korea won the gold medal and maintained its invincibility in the women’s recurve event, as it has won all 10 gold medals since the event was added to the Olympic programme in 1988.

A rugby sevens ball from each semi-final and final in both the men’s and women’s events. The four balls, which were produced exclusively for the Games and will not be on general sale, were signed by the captains of the two teams in each match, making a total of eight signatures. Donated by World Rugby.

The Heritage Acquisitions Team is made up of five people from various units in the Culture Department of the museum and the International Olympic Committee, and a team has been to every Games since Los Angeles 1984. It all starts three months before the Games, with a list drawn up of potential acquisitions to be made on site. Contact is made in advance with several key people, including from the International Sports Federations, athletes’ managers and the National Olympic Committees, in order to collect the most appropriate items for the collections and for heritage conservation purposes.

Part of the collections can be seen online on the Olympic Museum website. If you have any questions about the Heritage Acquisitions Team , please contact press.museum@olympic.org.