The museum consists of three sections:

HISTORICAL SECTION

Ancient Greece:

The oldest written sources describing the Olympic Games can be traced back to 776BC. We know from these sources that competitions were held at the sacred site of Olympia in Greece, which is the origin of the name for the Olympic Games.

Competitions were held every four years in honour of the Greek god Zeus, and the period of four years between the Games became known as an OLYMPIAD.

Only free, Greek men were permitted to participate in the original Olympic Games, and women were not even allowed to attend as spectators. In 393AD, Christianity was introduced as the state religion in Greece and the Games were outlawed. The area around Olympia lost its significance and eventually disappeared under earth and rocks as a result of earthquakes and natural disasters.

The Modern Olympic Games:
 
Almost 1,500 years elapsed after the last Games were held at Olympia in ancient Greece when Pierre de Coubertin, a French baron, began his quest to revive the Games.

Findings from archaeological excavations undertaken in Olympia were presented at the World Exhibition in Paris in 2884, and this gave Mr. Coubertin added inspiration to pursue his dream.

The International Olympic Committee was founded in Paris in 1894, and the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, bringing together 245 participants from 14 nations. Norway participated for the first time in Paris in the year 1900.

The first Olympic Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Oddly enough, Norway was one of the leading opponents of these Winter Games, which were seen as a rival event to the famous skiing events held regularly at Holmenkollen, Oslo. 

The exhibition traces the history of all of the Summer and Winter Games from 1896/1924 up to today.


LILLEHAMMER ’94 SECTION


The XVII Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer in 1994 attracted 1,737 competitors from 67 countries, heralding 16 days of glorious sunshine, brilliant performances and ebullient crowds. A total of 1.2 million tickets were sold during the event.

The days in Lillehammer produced more than just good results. The exhibition depicts how the design, decoration and cultural programmes, as well as the arenas, ceremonies, volunteers, organisations, folk life and last but not least the magical atmosphere, all contributed to staging "the best Olympic Winter games ever".

THE OLYMPIC ROOM

The Olympic Room displays the extensive collection of Olympic memorabilia assembled over the years by IOC member Jan Staubo, as well as items from Hans Rode’s collection of coins and medals.

Awards presented to members of the Norwegian Royal Family and the Lillehammer Olympic Committee (LOOC) are also on display, as is an extensive collection of stamps from all the Games this century, belonging to Johan Jørgen Holst, former Norwegian Foreign Minister.

The Norwegian Sports Honorary Gallery in the Olympic Room displays 250 photographs of Norway’s best athletes over the past 150 years.

Other exhibits

"Telecommunications 1952 - 1994", from the Oslo Winter Games in 1952 to the Lillehammer Games in 1994.