Warming up for Paris begins – an exhibition ahead of the Olympic Games opens at Silosi!

This interactive installation is conceived as a big warm-up for the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris, jointly organized by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and the Gaia Movement, the nonprofit organization behind Belgrade’s Silosi. This unusual exhibition, dedicated to the biggest and most important sporting competition in the world, will run until June 23, with plenty of accompanying programs such as guided tours, workshops, panel discussions, quizzes, and even a treasure hunt for young people! Admission is free, and the exhibition is open from 12 pm to 9 pm, every day except Monday.

New hologram technologies, exciting Olympic posters, ceremonial uniforms, and numerous attractive exhibits at Silosi brought visitors closer to the Olympic movement, whose scale and significance go beyond sporting competitions and records. Basketball players Nevena Jovanović and Saša Čađo, winners of the bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, officially declared the Exhibition open and invited the citizens of Serbia to visit the exhibition and thus support our team that will compete at the Olympic Games in Paris.

At the beginning, the guests were also addressed by the Secretary General of the Olympic Committee of Serbia, Đorđe Višacki, who, among other things, said: “We wanted this exhibition to touch hearts, first and foremost of young people, but also of all of us who share the Olympic values of friendship and competitive excellence, and so I hope visitors will enjoy everything we’ve prepared for them.”

Anastasija Ćetković, founder of the “Gaia Movement,” the organization that transformed old grain silos into Belgrade’s largest social gathering place, added that “the Olympic Games truly are much more than sport, because they have been and remain the greatest showcase humanity has. The Olympic spirit is also the spirit of friendship among nations, the spirit of multiculturalism, the spirit of skill and art—both competitive and the spirit of fair play—and above all, the spirit of peace that reminds us that we are all one big community on this one planet we have.” Those gathered were also addressed by DDOR osiguranje Executive Board member Tatjana Rakočević: “We proudly support the Olympic Committee of Serbia in what is now our second cycle, and we invite everyone to take part in the Olympic Quiz and the Treasure Hunt, and in doing so win extremely valuable prizes that we have prepared for visitors.”

Visitors found the holobox especially attractive, as with the help of new technologies it led those gathered into real relay races with Olympic torches that have passed through our country several times. Also always interesting were the Olympic posters, which were always created by the best visual artists and graphic designers around the world, thus combining sport and art, tradition and contemporary culture. Attention was also drawn to the ceremonial uniforms our athletes have proudly worn throughout the 112-year history of Olympism here. Serbia’s athletes made their Olympic debut in 1912, and the exhibition “The Olympic Games – More Than Sport!” also presents numerous historical photographs, as well as video footage and items that were presented through the Virtual Olympic Museum. Visitors had the opportunity to peek into the Olympic Village and find out what is in our Olympians’ bags, and all those interested in the coming days will be able to leave a message for our athletes on a specially created wall of wishes.

The exhibition has a rich accompanying program for all generations, and as early as today from 4 pm young people can look forward to a treasure hunt, and tonight from 7 pm a panel will be held at Silosi featuring Olympic champions Tijana Bogdanović and Svetlana Obućina. The very next day, on Sunday at 1 pm, the Olympic Quiz will be held, and at 3 pm an Eco Workshop dedicated to birds. In the following days, visitors can also expect guided tours, creative workshops through the “Olympic Lesson,” Conversations with Champions, eco workshops of the Children’s Ecological Academy, panel discussions by the “Women and Sport” commission of the Olympic Committee of Serbia on the topics: “Olympic champions then and now” and “What after Olympic gold?”, a promotion of the book “Krugovi Berlina 1936” by author Tamara Malešev, as well as marking 40 years since the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.