The French Embassy in Bucharest hosted on Monday a photo exhibition featuring images captured by photojournalists from the AGERPRES National News Agency at various editions of the Olympic Games, organised on the occasion of France's National Day of Sport.

The snapshots taken by AGERPRES photojournalists and displayed at the French Embassy were admired by figures from the world of sport, including Olympic champions Camelia Potec, Ana-Maria Branza, Alina Dumitru and Ioana Vranceanu, multiple European table tennis champion Otilia Badescu, Paralympic champion Eduard Novak, the president of the National Agency for Sport, Bogdan Matei and the secretary general of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR), George Boroi, as well as by Ambassador Nicolas Warnery.

Director of the AGERPRES National News Agency Claudia Nicolae highlighted the role of photojournalism in raising awareness of the efforts made by athletes to achieve top performance.

'Last year, I experienced firsthand what it means to witness decades of an athlete's effort condensed into just a few seconds. Within this exhibition we have organised here together with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, we will see a few images that help us understand what performance truly means within the Olympic Games. It is said that sport is not just a mental and physical effort, sport can leave a greater mark on history than textbooks ever could. Why? Because beyond dates and statistics, we see willpower, emotion and pages of history. This is what my colleagues at AGERPRES manage to do, to show people the effort behind the scenes, because when we proudly hear the national anthem, we don't always realise that. We hope that, moving forward, such sporting events will leave a mark on the collective consciousness of both Romania and France. Let us not forget that values and identity exist, and once we are on the field, these no longer have borders,' Claudia Nicolae stated.

France's Ambassador Nicolas Warnery stated that the National Day of Sport aims to carry forward the exceptional momentum of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

'It is a great pleasure to welcome you today to the Residence of France to celebrate together the first edition of the Day of Sport. This event, held under the sign of Franco-Romanian friendship, brings us together to honour the universal values of sport, excellence, respect and fair play. On 14 September 2024, the day after the celebration of athletes on the Champs Élysées marking the end of the extraordinary Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced the creation of a National Day of Sport. This celebration will take place every year from now on, on 14 September, and will make all of France vibrate to the rhythm of sport. Because this is more than just a simple event, we are talking here about a true national momentum, reaching even our embassies, intended to carry forward the exceptional energy of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to encourage each of us to engage in regular physical activity, to capitalize on the role of sport in society and to strengthen social bonds around the universal values of sport. I hope for this Day of Sport to be an opportunity to celebrate together passion, effort and friendship. I hope that the example of our athletes will inspire young people, and that the Olympic spirit will continue to strengthen the friendship between France and Romania,' Ambassador Nicolas Warnery stated.

President of the National Agency for Sport Bogdan Matei hopes that Romania will one day dare to dream of hosting an edition of the Olympic Games, with another goal being the establishment of a museum of Romanian sport.

'The Romanian state, through the National Agency for Sport, holds an enormous heritage in the sport area, over 27,000 pieces. We hope that in the near future, through a partnership with the District 2 City Hall, we will build one of the most beautiful museums Romania has to offer, perhaps, why not, in partnership with the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee as well. Without the involvement of the COSR, Romanian sport would not have achieved international results, including at the supreme competition, the Olympic Games. At the same time, I would like to congratulate France for organising the 2024 Olympic Games, from which we, the Romanian people, have much to learn. And why not, perhaps in the near future, Romania will dare to dream of hosting Olympic Games. We have the capacity, the strength and the determination. And we also have something else, we have the best ambassadors. Perhaps the Romanian state is not doing enough for Romanian sport, but together, with a strong team, we will have the opportunity to shout 'Go, Romania!' far more often than we have until now. Through a partnership with you, I am sure our two nations will be better. We must realise that the only bond between peoples is sport, because sport is what brings us together,' Bogdan Matei said.

Former Paralympic champion Eduard Novak, the current president of the National Paralympic Committee, stated that he hopes for Romania to become a leading force in this area.

'I was in Paris as an athlete, it was my seventh participation in the Paralympic Games and these were probably the Games that revealed a new face of this level of competition. The Paralympic Games have become a major event in global sport, and, for the first time, Paris 2024 showed this by using two similar logos, symbolising equality between able-bodied athletes and those with disabilities. As president of the National Paralympic Committee, I am determined for Romania to become a strong force in this area. We have a lot of ground to cover, there are over 900,000 people with disabilities in the country. In Paris, we participated with six athletes and managed to win one gold and one bronze medal, which proves our athletes are highly valuable. The math is simple: if we multiply that number by 10, let's say 60 athletes, I believe we will be high up in the world rankings,' Novak declared.

COSR Secretary General George Boroi mentioned that Romania will need France's expertise when organizing the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2027.

'France is a sporting nation, a nation that excels in major competitions and knows how to welcome the whole world to major events. Romania aims to organise several important events during this Olympic cycle. In 2026, we will have the Nadia Comaneci Year and will carry out joint actions with your permission, Mr Ambassador. Then, in 2027, we will probably need your expertise, taking into account that France will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2030 and Romania will organise, in Brasov, the European Youth Olympic Festival, a competition expecting 2,000 athletes. For us, Paris was a very important edition because we returned to nearly the top 10% of participating countries, with nine medals and an honorable 23rd place. We prepared the mission and it was successful thanks to the unconditional support of local authorities,' George Boroi stated. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Adrian Tone; EN - writing by: Rodica State)