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Thursday, March 28, 2024

IOC chief Bach emotional as Olympic manifesto returns home

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IOC chief Bach emotional as Olympic manifesto returns home
IOC chief Bach emotional as Olympic manifesto returns home

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov donates the $8.8 million Olympic document to the Games museum

SHOWS: LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (FEBRUARY 10, 2020) (IOC - ACCESS ALL) 1.

RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE AND HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION, ALISHER USMANOV (RIGHT) HANDING IOC PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH (LEFT) THE BARON PIERRE DE COUBERTIN OLYMPIC MANIFESTO MANUSCRIPT 2.

BACH AND USMANOV POSING WITH THE MANUSCRIPT 3.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC PRESIDENT, THOMAS BACH, SAYING: "It is a day of great emotion because we have today received, at home, the founding document of the Olympic Movement and of the Olympic Games.

This is how it all started with the re-establishment of the Olympic Games and therefore you cannot overestimate the significance and importance of this speech of Pierre de Coubertin and you cannot overestimate the fact that thanks to the generosity of Mr Usmanov, this document is coming back home to the Olympic Museum and the IOC." 4.

USMANOV AND BACH LOOKING AT MANUSCRIPT 5.

MANUSCRIPT ON TABLE STORY: Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov came out on Monday (February 10) as the mystery buyer of the original 1892 Olympic manifesto, the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction, when he donated it to the Olympic museum in Lausanne.

The businessman, who also heads the international fencing federation, had bought the 14-page document penned by International Olympic Committee founder Pierre de Coubertin, advocating the resurrection of the ancient Greek Games, for a record $8.8 million at auction in New York back in December.

IOC President Thomas Bach said it was an emotional experience to see the document return to its "home" during a ceremony in Lausanne, headquarters of the IOC and the site of the Olympic museum.

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