House of Switzerland
The House of Switzerland is the official guesthouse of the Swiss Confederation, which is built, furnished and operated for the duration of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. It is the official meeting point of the Swiss Olympic Team and the venue for the official medal celebrations of the Swiss medalists.[1]
History
[edit]The tradition of the House of Switzerland goes back to 1998, when the House of Switzerland was first built for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, operated by the Swiss Olympic Association. The idea was to create a meeting point for the Swiss Olympic Team as well as the official Swiss delegations, but also for fans traveling from Switzerland. Over time, the House of Switzerland developed into a platform for Swiss public diplomacy.[1]
Project management
[edit]Since the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the House of Switzerland has been under the project management of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Within the FDFA, Presence Switzerland is responsible for the planning, implementation and execution of the concept for the House of Switzerland.[2]
Mobile House of Switzerland
[edit]A mobile House of Switzerland manufactured in Switzerland was erected for the first time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi. The spruce wood construction consists of 193 largely standardized elements that can be transported on fourteen semi-trailers or in containers. A further five trucks are needed to transport the interior fittings.
Four houses with two or three storeys and a total area of 730 m² are arranged in such a way that they form an inner courtyard of 66 m². The first floor houses a restaurant, a stage and exhibition rooms, the VIP and athletes' lounge are on the second floor and studios for television and radio are on the second floor.[3] The House of Switzerland is one of the few Houses of Nations at Olympic Games that is open to the public.[4]
After its first appearance in Sochi, the mobile building was used in a scaled-down version at the Giro del Gusto in Milan. In August 2014, it was used on Sechseläutenplatz in Zurich during the European Athletics Championships.[5]
For the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a two-storey pavilion, the Maison Suisse, was erected in the garden of the Swiss Embassy with a total area of 1000 m², which includes a bar, a restaurant, a music program and art installations by Geneva artists Laure Marville and Thomas Liu Le Lann.[6][7]
References
[edit]Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at de:House of Switzerland; see its history for attribution.
- ^ a b Swiss Olympic, Website, August 2012
- ^ House of Switzerland, Website, August 2012.
- ^ "History | House of Switzerland". web.archive.org. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "House of Switzerland". www.houseofswitzerland.org (in German). 13 October 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "History | House of Switzerland". web.archive.org. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "History | House of Switzerland". web.archive.org. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ "Jodeln und Beatboxen in Konkurrenz: So sieht das House of Switzerland in Paris aus". watson.ch (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
External links
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