The Olympic Studies Centre (OSC) was awarded the 2026 Sports Organisation Award by the European Association for Sport Management (EASM), a recognition of its work in academic research and its ability to bring university knowledge closer to the Olympic Movement. Since its creation, the Centre has developed various initiatives aimed at preserving, studying and disseminating information related to the Olympic Games, creating spaces for interaction among researchers, students, academics and professionals involved in sport.
The recognition comes in a year marked by intense activity at the Centre around access to and the production of knowledge. During 2025, the Olympic World Library recorded more than five million visits, while more than 1,300 researchers, students and representatives of the Olympic Movement visited its facilities in Lausanne. Through its services, the OSC handles hundreds of research requests each year and provides access to official publications, Games data and primary sources that enable the study of different dimensions of Olympism and sports management.
A library connecting sport and research
The Centre’s work takes place both in person and online, with a collection designed to facilitate research and teaching on the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. The Olympic World Library has become one of its main gateways to knowledge: during 2025, users consulted 3.6 million publications and resources and downloaded more than 400,000 documents. These figures demonstrate the scale of a platform used by people from different countries who need access to historical, academic and documentary information about Olympic sport.
The connection with researchers is also maintained directly. Each year, the Centre welcomes hundreds of people seeking to develop projects related to the Games and provides resources that can be difficult to find outside its specialised collections. This is complemented by the cataloguing and dissemination of academic publications and activities, as well as access to experts in different fields. In this process, the OSC serves as a point of connection between those producing knowledge at universities and the institutions that form part of the Olympic ecosystem.
Training, case studies and support for new researchers
The relationship with the academic world is also expressed through programmes aimed at students and researchers. Since 2021, the OSC has annually organised an international Olympic case study competition, an initiative involving nearly 40 universities from different parts of the world. The programme presents undergraduate and master’s students with situations linked to real challenges in sports management, allowing them to work on concrete problems and gain insight into the decisions faced by sports organisations.
The Centre also maintains direct links with doctoral programmes and researchers at different stages of their careers. It currently funds 13 projects for doctoral students, early-career researchers and established academics through its research fellowship programmes. These initiatives seek to generate new perspectives on sport and Olympism, while also providing evidence and analysis that can be considered in the development of strategies and policies by the International Olympic Committee. The award was announced on September 17, 2026, during the EASM General Assembly held in Thessaloniki, Greece.
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