Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Sarajevo Olympic Games
From 9 January to 5 May 2024. The exhibition opens on 18 January at 17:00.
In 2024, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of a sporting event in which Slovenians were deeply involved. At the Olympic Games, which took place from 8 to 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Slovenians not only actively participated in the organisation and staging of the Games, but also excelled in the sporting competitions. An important part was played by the Slovenian set designer Meta Hočevar, who designed the sets for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, and the academic painter Jože Trobec, who created the official mascot of the Games, Vučko the wolf. A number of Slovenian sports workers took on key roles in preparing the competition venues. They acted as head coaches of the then Yugoslav national team, the core of which was made up of Slovenian athletes. The first Winter Olympic medal was won for Yugoslavia by the Slovenian skier Jure Franko. Many Slovenian companies provided media support and co-produced the event, and Radio Ljubljana and Televizija Ljubljana brought the Games into the homes of Slovenians. The National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia and the Sports Museum are commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Sarajevo Olympic Games with an exhibition that will present the stories of Slovenians at the Games through a combination of the museums’ work and the research undertaken by private collectors.
The core of the exhibition The Silver Games 1984 is made up of stories, objects and memories of Slovenian athletes in the then Yugoslav national team, as well as those of the sports workers and officials who in 1984 held various leading positions within the organisational structure of the Olympic Games. During the exhibition, we can feel the excitement of the opening ceremony, we are transported back to the 1980s through images and objects, and we learn about the events that accompanied the Olympic Games and the legacy of sporting Sarajevo.
The exhibition has been produced in cooperation with the Sports Museum, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia and the Sport Media Focus agency.
Curators participating in the exhibition: Andreja Zupanec Bajželj, Domen Kaučič (MNSZS), Tadej Curk, PhD, Tomaž Pavlin, PhD, Aleš Šafarič, PhD, Maja Hakl Saje (Sports Museum).
