Olympic studies

The catalogue of The Olympic Studies Centre can be accessed via the Olympic World Library (OWL).

It is simultaneously a library catalogue, an information portal and a search engine entirely devoted to Olympic knowledge. It gives you access to the unique collections of The Olympic Studies Centre, with all the official publications from the IOC and the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, as well as books, articles and selected dissertations produced by academics and professionals from all around the world.

The IOC archives documents may only be consulted on-the-spot at the Olympic Studies Centre.

Anyone who wants to carry out research using the archives must first complete the following electronic form.

Most of the archive documents are accessible only 20 years after they have been produced. Others have greater access restrictions.

It is therefore recommended that you read the access rules before coming.

You can send a request using this form. On receipt of the form and a check on availability, a staff member will contact you as soon as possible to confirm your visit.

The Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) constitutes one the greatest centres in the world of written, visual and audio information on the Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games.
The OSC collections include library documents and historical archives.

NB: Access to the collections is free of charge but all associated costs (travel, accommodation, photocopies, etc.) are borne by the researcher.

Learn more:

• All resources of the Olympic Studies Centre accessible via the Olympic World Library
• The Olympic Studies Centre

Files are available in the “Documents” section (at the bottom of the page). The themes covered are:

1. The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece
2. The Modern Olympic Games
3. Olympism and the Olympic Movement
4. The Olympic Games Posters
5. The Olympic Flame and Torch Relay

• Access to all the files

With an educational goal, those wishing to obtain an edited version of the documents (high quality images) can contact: edu.museum@olympic.org

By submitting an application for one of the two annual research grant programmes offered by the IOC’s Olympic Studies Centre (OSC):

PhD Students and Early Career Academics Research Grant Programme:
The aim of this programme is to help researchers at the start of their career. It is aimed in particular at all PhD students and early career academics (university staff members and postdoctoral interns who obtained their doctorate or final equivalent degree in the past three years) who are engaged in research into any aspect of the Olympic world from a human or social sciences perspective.

Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme:
This second programme is to encourage established researchers to work from a human or social sciences perspective in the priority research areas that the IOC defines each year. University teachers, lecturers and other researchers with a doctorate who hold an academic or research function, or who are attached to a university, are welcome to submit proposals.

Learn more:

• Research Grant Programmes

The access to the IOC audiovisual archives is reserved for professional entities such as agencies, broadcasters, production companies, academic work and the Olympic family. Therefore it is unfortunately not possible to follow up on private requests.

You can consult:

• The photo gallery
• Videos
• The official Olympic channel on YouTube 
• The Olympic Channel

You can also find HD photos of IOC events on Flickr.

The archives fonds retrace the history of the IOC and the Olympic Movement since their creation in 1894 to the present day (except for the last 20 years of activity). They are made up of text documents (paper files) and three collections of microfilms equivalent to a total of one linear kilometre of documents, or approximately 20,000 files.

The classification of IOC archive fonds reflects the organisation and the activities of the institution over time.

Learn more:

• Historical archives
• Historical archives access rules
• Olympic Studies Centre collections

The IOC Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) is the world source of reference for Olympic knowledge.

Its mission is to share Olympic knowledge by providing information, giving access to its unique collections, enabling research and stimulating intellectual exchange. Whether you are a researcher, a student, a journalist or an enthusiast, the OSC brings you the most relevant and up-to-date information and publications on Olympism.

Learn more:

• Online catalogue: The Olympic World Library

The list of all research projects funded by The Olympic Studies Centre since the creation of its grant programmes in 1999 is available here. The various projects are organized by theme in order to simplify consultation.

A selection of the most recent final research reports is also made available online through this list. You can also have access to these reports in the Olympic World Library in the Research grant programmes section.

Learn more:

• The Olympic Studies Centre – Research Grant Programmes

• Olympic Games Candidature Files (since 1924)
• Official Reports of the Olympic Games (since 1896)
• Publications by the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (since 1896)
• Olympic Reviews (since 1894)
• Olympic Charters (since 1908)
• Olympic Movement Directories (since 1969)
• Publications by Pierre de Coubertin
• Publications by the International Olympic Committee and The Olympic Museum
• Official publications by the International Olympic Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees (since 1969)

The majority of these publications are available in electronic format.

The Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) via its Olympic World Library also offers access to a vast collection on the Olympic sports and sports sciences. It holds over 28,000 works, 420 reviews, including 50 in electronic format, as well as a selection of e-books and DVDs.

The Olympic Studies Centre is located next to The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Access to OSC is free. National and international loans are available.

Learn more:

• The Olympic Studies Centre
• The Olympic World Library
• Access map