The Samaranch Memorial is designed to commemorate the memory and legacy of the late Juan Antonio Samaranch, who served as IOC President for over two decades from 1980 to 2001.

The Samaranch Memorial will be unveiled here tomorrow exactly three years after he died on April 21, 2010, at the age of 89.

The Samaranch Memorial was conceived, founded and designed by IOC Executive Board member C K Wu (pictured top) of Chinese Taipei and Samaranch has paid tribute.

"I thank C K for the work he has done to commemorate my father's legacy," said Samaranch in a speech here.

"It is a huge honour for my family and I to be here to witness this.

"With this Memorial, my father's legacy for the Olympic Movement will live on."


Wu decided to found the Samaranch Memorial shortly after the death of the Spaniard.

Samaranch donated his lifelong Olympic collection of over 16,000 pieces to Wu, who is also President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), shortly before his death, and the collection will be showcased at the Memorial.

Wu, a world-renowned architecture expert who helped create and build Milton Keynes in the UK, explained that building the Samaranch Memorial is a vitally important project for him.

"Without Samaranch, my life would not be the same," said Wu.

"He taught me so much and gave so much to the Olympic Movement.

Over 25 IOC members will be in attendance for the opening, including Samaranch's successor as IOC President Jacques Rogge.

Construction spans an area of 19,000 square metres with three overlapping circular structures forming the main building.

These circles together form the shapes of "8", "S" and "∞"which can be seen as representations of the Beijing 2008, Samaranch and the infinite and the eternal.

In addition, circular ramps connecting the two buildings and the three levels make up the five Olympic rings – the symbol of the union five continents through the Olympic Movement.

Once open, the Samaranch Memorial will be one of the biggest collections of Olympic memorabilia in the world.

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