New organisation to be launched at World Olympic Collectors Fair in Lausanne

By Nick Butler

Olympic aficionados from across the world are descending on Lausanne for the 20th World Olympic Collectors Fair this weekend, with the inaugural General Assembly of the Association Internationale des Collectionneurs Olympiques (AICO) adding extra significance.

AICO will replace the International Federation of Olympic Philatelists (FIPO) as the principal association of Olympic collector organisations and, unlike FIPO, will be run by the collecting groups themselves.

This follows several years of meetings since a new group was initially proposed, with FIPO, the foremost international Olympic collecting body since 1982, ceasing to operate in March 2013.

AICO will consist of 19 different organisations, representing philatelists, nurismatists, memorabilia and pin collectors, with recognition having already been granted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The General Assembly will take place today and will see the election of an Executive Board run by the member societies.

The inaugural General Assembly is taking place on the sidelines of the World Collectors Fair in Lausanne ©Getty Images

The Fair is due to begin tomorrow and continues until Sunday (May 25), and will follow in the footsteps of a 2012 version held in Athens and a 2013 event in Telemark, Norway.

It will be held in a 700 squared metre marquee located on the Place de Navigation in Ouchy, Lausanne close to the Olympic Museum and the IOC headquarters.

The opening day will consist of a trading session, open to registrants, followed by a cocktail reception and a tour of the Olympic Museum, which opened following a refurbishment in December last year.

The second and third day the Fair will be open to the public, while for registrants, a silent auction followed by an official dinner will also be held in the Museum on Saturday (May 24) evening.

The event has been organised by various members of the IOC Commission on Philately, Numismatics and Memorabilia, including Norweigian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg, as well as David Maiden, Jim Greensfelder and Halvor Kleppen.

It can be expected that recent events on the collecting calendar, and in particular Sochi 2014, will also figure highly.

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