Juan Antonio Samaranch

“The Olympic Movement is a 20th-century religion. Where there is no religion, the Olympic Movement is a substitute.”

“The Olympic spirit is neither the property of one race nor of one age.”

“We have succeeded in uniting all the world through sport.”

“No act of terrorism will ever destroy the spirit of the Olympic Games.”

“Let us stop the killing. Let us stop the fighting. Let us drop our weapons. Let us come to the negotiating table.”

“The Olympic Movement gives the world an ideal which reaches above all nations and beliefs. The Games themselves provide a space where there is no inequality.”

“To say goodbye is not to develop a nostalgia for the past, but to open a door to the future.”

“I am a man of peace. I am a man of sport. I have tried to do my best for the Olympic movement.”

“I can proclaim with pride that the Olympic movement is part of the new world order.”