Paris 2023 (France)
27th World Olympic Collectors’ Fair from 06/23 to 06/25/2023
Paris 2023. One year before the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, France and AFCOS welcome collectors from around the world. After a long period of scarcity following the Covid-19 pandemic, collectors are meeting in Paris, within the Charlety stadium.
Thursday, June 22
After long months of preparatory work, AFCOS volunteers are hard at work setting up the room (tables, chairs, decoration, signage, etc.), before welcoming the first collectors who arrive in the middle. afternoon. Everyone drops off their belongings at their assigned location after receiving their accreditation and welcome gifts. Meanwhile, the exhibition planned for an upper floor is being set up.
At the end of the afternoon, a bus, lost in Parisian traffic, finally arrived and took the collectors initially to the Yves-du-Manoir stadium, in Colombes, in order to visit the remains of the Olympic Games of Paris 1924 and the transformation of the stadium for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games so that field hockey could take place there. Then, it is at the city conservatory that we are invited to attend a show by Hortense Belhôte “A History of Women’s Football”, preceded by a cocktail. The evening ends at the Municipal Museum of Art and History of Colombes, privatized for the occasion, where the emblematic pieces of the 1924 Paris Games are presented.
Friday, June 23
After a very lively day between the filming of the program “Aux Jeux Citoyens” broadcast on France 3 until the start of the Paris 2024 Games, the running of my stand and the various organizational hiccups to be resolved, the sale to silent auction takes place in the early evening. The sale is held in a room usually reserved for the media with a view of the stadium, which is a great success. A cocktail is served, which delights all the guests.
Saturday, June 24
Another intense day, mainly marked by the visit of a friend and my cousins. Day punctuated by a dinner cruise on the Seine, preview of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Grandiose!
Sunday, June 25
This last day marks the end of the Fair, the last transactions are carried out while everyone puts away their belongings. The volunteers then tidy up the room to return it to the way it was given to us. In the evening, at the CNOSF, a last meal awaits the collectors who remained. Pietro, the chef, has prepared a surprise for us and everyone leaves delighted with this last friendly evening.