The Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum has been nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award.

The European Museum Forum announced on December 4th the museums that will compete for the title of European Museum of the Year in May 2024, and among them is the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum located in Tartu.

The unveiling of the renewed permanent exhibition “The Story of Estonian Sports” at the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum in 2020. Photo by Jan Henrik Pärnik.

To qualify for the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), a museum must have opened or significantly renewed since January 2019. During this time, the sports museum, among other achievements:

• Remodeled the main floors of the museum in 2020 and in October of the same year, unveiled the hands-on permanent exhibition "The Story of Estonian Sports" in the museum's renewed spaces. The exhibition design crafted by the Neway design agency earned the 3rd place, or the Pronksmuna (Bronze Egg), in the prestigious Kuldmuna (Golden Egg) competition a year later in the environmental design category.

• Opened one of the museum's storerooms to visitors during the 2020 renovation, leading to the development of an innovative web application in 2021 for scanning the items there, which won the Estonian Museum Award (Eesti muuseumide aastaauhinnad) in the museum developer category in 2022.

• Developed their very own web application - "Digikaaslane" (Digital Buddy) - offering additional features during visits, such as an audio guide, house guide, gaming, and feedback platform.

• Collaborated in 2022 with Red Bull Estonia and Simple Session to inaugurate the first temporary major exhibition on extreme sports in their renovated building. The marketing campaign "Üle piiri" (Beyond the Borders) for this exhibition won the Estonian Marketing Achievement of the Year title awarded by Visit Estonia in the same year.

• Elevated their museum education by offering a wide range of educational and hands-on programs for various age groups.

"We are extremely delighted about the EMYA nomination; it's a tremendous recognition for us, especially being selected among Europe's best museums in a year when Tartu is the European Capital of Culture," said Siim Randoja, the board member at the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum. “It's a great acknowledgement for the team and thanks to all the partners who have contributed and allowed us to offer memorable experiences to our visitors.”

The winners will be announced during the EMYA2024 annual conference held in Portimão, Portugal, from May 1st to May 4th, 2024. Read more about EMYA for further details.