Olympic Winter Games posters

[Fiona]

To mark the XX Winter Olympic Games being held in Turin, from 10 to 26 February 2006, the Olympic Museum is exhibiting a selection of the most beautiful posters of each edition of the Games from Chamonix 1924. The posters will be on display until 16 October 2005.

The poster as a communication tool
In order to bring together athletes and spectators from around the world, Games organisers did not always have the highly developed modes of communication of today. It was during the 1928 Games in Amsterdam (Netherlands) when radio broadcast was used to transmit the Olympic events for the first time. This meant the promotion of the Games was essentially dependent on print. The poster was therefore an important method of announcing this event.

TV, radio and Internet have taken over
With time, other media have come to relate the information once communicated mainly by posters. Today, we no longer need to put the exact dates of the Games on the official poster, or to geographically situate the host city, as on the poster for the 1932 Lake Placid Games. The promotion of the Games, including related practical information, is now effectively communicated via television, radio and Internet.

The official poster remains a tradition
However, the official poster remains an Olympic tradition. Usually selected by the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG), it promotes a specific edition of the Games through its graphic design. In order to create it, the OCOG generally sets up a poster contest. This contest may be open to all, to artists from the host country, or to specific artists pre-selected by the OCOG. The poster that wins first prize becomes the official poster of the Games and offers the artist or designer the opportunity to have his work circulated throughout the entire world. Thus, each edition of the Games results in the creation of a substantial number of posters for advertising or communication purposes. Posters may feature the torch relay, mascots or pictograms, specific Olympic sports, competition venues, cultural festivals or may seek to recruit volunteer helpers.

www.olympic.org

Below:

Chamonix 1924
Lake Placid 1932
Corina d'Ampezzo 1956