Los Angeles (AFP)
The original manuscript of the Olympic Games manifesto written in 1892 by Pierre de Coubertin will be auctioned at the end of December in New York, Sotheby's auction house announced Wednesday, which publicly exhibited the document for the first time in Los Angeles.
In this speech, the Baron de Coubertin sketches his vision to revive the Olympic Games of Antiquity in the form of modern and international sports competition exalting the spirit of excellence and fair play, "great work and beneficial" according to him .
"The 14-page manuscript is the only known copy of the manifesto and was written in French by Coubertin for a speech made in 1892 on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the French Athletics Association" in Paris, Sotheby's said in a statement. a statement.
With an estimated value of between $ 700,000 and $ 1 million, the document will be part of a sale of books and manuscripts organized on December 18 in New York by Sotheby's.
Two years after giving his speech, Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, a prelude to the first modern Olympics to be held in Athens in 1896.
For Richard Austin, director of Sotheby's books and manuscripts department in New York, "the manifesto boldly proclaims a modern and progressive vision of humanity" and Coubertin's statement is "timeless".
© 2019 AFP