More than just an enthusiast, Didier Balayre is passionate about the Olympics. Since he was little, he has collected everything directly or indirectly related to the Olympic Games. He has accumulated up to 40,000 objects and part of his collection will be exhibited at the Departmental Archives of Perpignan during the Paris 2024 Games.
He fell into it when he was little. One foot in sport and the other in the Olympics. At the age of 7, Didier Balayre was one of the young Catalans to carry the Olympic flame to Font-Romeu during the 1968 Grenoble Olympic Games ceremonies. A first memory as a first Olympic sensation for Didier. Emotions that transformed him for life. “It’s true that I’ve been intrigued since I was little. Since that age, since the Grenoble games when I had the chance to carry this flame. And I also remember Shuss the skier, the mascot of the games of Grenoble that my parents gave me as a stuffed toy, it was the ancestor of all the other Olympic Games mascots that we subsequently knew.“
This is how Didier Balayre made his debut as a collector specializing in the Olympics. And also in skiing, his other great passion. With Shuss to boot. Then there will be thousands of other derived objects: pins, badges, diplomas, gadgets, bibs, clothing, accreditations, etc. And even… real medals. One of gold and the other of silver, which Didier will accumulate from Olympiad to Olympiad. From encounter to encounter. Member of the Departmental Olympic and Sports Committee 66 (Cdos), career sports presenter now retired, regular volunteer at the Olympics, Didier dedicated his life to sport and the Olympics. In Lausanne in Switzerland, at the IOC headquarters where he was invited, he even met the former president until 2001, the Barcelona native Juan Antonio Samaranch. “Between Catalans, the flow immediately went well”, remembers Didier, all smiles. A strong relationship was born.
Every object must have a story
But many other encounters have forged in him this love of rings which he also shares in the department’s schools, keeping the flame of the Games alive through his collection and his stories. Many other personalities were important in his life as a sportsman and collector. “I am very attached to the historical value of all the objects that I managed to find. Each one must have a story or it is worthless, this is very important to me. The roosters of the National Olympic Committee in the window m “were for example offered by the rider Pierre Jonquères d’Oriola or the skier Jean-Claude Killy, some exceptional autographed photos also, and the medals”he explains.
So Didier necessarily has a few display cases to display most of his collection, which numbered up to 40,000 objects. With rare, “vintage” pieces, such as the official sweater from the Albertville 1992 Winter Olympics, “the same sweater that Michel Platini wore when he lit the flame”, says Didier again. But so as not to overflow the Balayre family house in Bouleternère, he got rid of many souvenirs and other testimonies of Olympic history in recent decades to limit his treasures to a dedicated desk in his home. . But this private collection nevertheless remains one of the largest and most interesting in France in this area. And it is definitely not finished.
Volunteer for Paris 2024
Because in a few weeks, Didier will write a new page in his Olympic journey by stepping back into the role of volunteer. The Paris 2024 Games begin for him on July 26, on the Arena site, Porte de la Chapelle where the badminton events will take place. “As I’m crazy about sport, I’ve done skiing and other disciplines, but I’ve also been in badminton for 20 years and I’ve been a referee for 18 years. That’s why I am selected in the team of volunteers for this competition”indicates Didier.
After the flame in 1968, after the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Didier will return to his element, in the great Olympic bath that he loves so much. And in the meantime, while he is on the field, his collection will be at the Departmental Archives, in Perpignan, for an Olympic summer exhibition open to the general public. The circle is complete.
