Scarce commemorative medal issued for the seventh Olympic Congress, which was held in Lausanne in June 1924. Bronze, 51 mm, 56 gm, by Huguenin. The front features a cluster of leaves with wrapped scroll and a central tablet with raised date, “23 Juin 1924,” and the reverse bears an additional branch and leaves with embossed text in French (translated): “The Assembled Nations Celebrate the Thirtieth Anniversary of Renewed Olympism.” Stamped “Bronze” on the edge.
The resumption of Olympic Congresses following the First World War took place in Lausanne because, during the war, Pierre de Coubertin had moved the IOC headquarters there for the sake of neutrality. The main objective of the Congress was to complete the work, started in Paris in 1914, on streamlining the expanding Olympic Games program.
The Congress decided not to introduce Olympic Winter Games as an independent part of the Olympics but that the host country would be allowed to stage competitions in winter sports under the auspices of the IOC, assuming that the country met adequate landscaping and organizational criteria. France was the first to have the chance to stage an ‘International Winter Sports Week.’ This took place at Chamonix in 1924 and later became officially known as the Ist Olympic Winter Games.
