The President of the International Olympic Committee received the original manuscript of the Olympic Games manifesto drawn up in 1892 by Pierre de Coubertin.
The document was given to him by Russian billionaire Alisher Ousmanov, President of the International Fencing Federation. The Russian acquired the manifesto for 8.8 million euros at an auction in New York last December.
Thomas Bach, IOC president speaking at the event said: “It is a day of great emotion because today we receive, at home, the founding document of the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games.
“This is how it all began with the re-establishment of the Olympic Games, so you cannot overestimate the meaning and importance of this speech by Pierre de Coubertin and you cannot overestimate the effect. And thank you, Mr. Ousmanov. This document goes back home to the Olympic Museum and the IOC.”
The businessman guru, Alisher Ousmanov is interested in sports and keen about Russia’s concerns with the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA.
In December, he denounced the WADA move against the “lynching” of his country, excluded for 4 years from the Olympic Games.
