Louis Vuitton creative director Pharrell Williams wants to bring the arts competitions, which were last held in 1948, back to the Olympics.
Speaking at an event at the Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation building to mark the opening of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, William suggested that he would like to see the arts competitions return to the games in 2028.
“At one point the Olympics actually had like the arts as a section that ran all these competitions – sculpture, architecture and visual arts,” he told the Associated Press.
“The idea [is] we get to put the arts back in, and maybe by 2028. Why not take this moment to raise an awareness?”
The arts competitions were part of modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin’s vision for the games and were held from 1912 to 1948 alongside the sporting events.
Medals were awarded in five categories – architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture – for pieces that were inspired by sport.
Notable winners of the architecture awards include Dutch architect Jan Wils for the design of the 1928 Olympic stadium in Amsterdam. In 1936, German architect Werner March won a gold medal in the town planning section and a silver in architectural design for the Reich Sport Field, which hosted the games.
The arts competitions were removed from the games following the 1948 Olympics as the organising committee was concerned that professionals were allowed to enter, while the sports were competed by amateurs.
The next Olympics, where Williams hopes to see the arts reinstated, will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.
They will follow this year’s games that are currently taking place in Paris at venues across the city, where the major themes have been reuse and renovation.
Our Olympic Impact series, which is running throughout the games, will investigate whether the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can be the blueprint for sustainable major sporting events.
