A press conference was held at the Sarajevo City Hall on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo at which many celebrities addressed those present, among whom were Benjiamina Karic, Jasmin Ademovic, Pere Miro, Sanda Dubravcic, Jure Franko, Bojan Krizaj, Katarina Witt...

The Mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic, pointed out that everyone should preserve the Sarajevo Olympic heritage.

“I want the Olympic spirit to last, to revive the Olympic spirit together with our guests and all the other delegations that honoured us and came, but also to incentivize young athletes to achieve top results. We remember and preserve the Olympic heritage, but we also create new opportunities,” Karic said.

President of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina Izet Radjo also addressed the audience.

“The Olympic spirit is the most brilliant legacy that Sarajevo has. The good news is, that we do have the support of the European Olympic Committee and the understanding of the International Olympic Committee officials. We have a common vision, and when we work together, everything is possible,” said Radjo.

The celebrated athlete Sanda Dubravcic who lit the flame at the Kosevo stadium, recalled that event.

“I am very excited to be in Sarajevo again. This was that day – February 8, 1984. The day I illuminated that community. The day Sarajevo came alive for the opening of the Olympic Games. I see Vucko the mascot again, who inspired all of us athletes who were in the team. God himself sent that snow, we waited for it so that Kosevo would be white, so that all the costumes that showed the unity of that time would shine in full glory,” said Sanda Dubravcic, and added:

“I had to run over those 98 steps, and before the actual opening, even though there were many rehearsals, there was no trepidation. I must admit that afterwards, I was much more nervous at the competition. I really think that those games were warm and human and all the people of Sarajevo lived for those 14 days when all the athletes from all over the world were there. The hardest thing for me was seeing Sarajevo in 1994 when I saw that Kosevo was full of graves, where we opened the Olympic Games. Sport gives unity, gives one extra strength. Sports taught me a lot.”

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Honorary citizen of Sarajevo, Jure Franko, who brought a medal to Yugoslavia at the time, also addressed the audience.

“These are the first games in the time of political blockades that had all the best athletes from the world, from all countries. On the 14th of February, I thought that nothing would change in my life, but everything changed after that, and really, I honestly say that I have a life before and after Sarajevo. I owe it to you, I owe it to the people of Sarajevo, I owe it to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to our entire country at the time, that I had the opportunity to compete, and to achieve such a great goal, to get a medal. Only with a common spirit, with a common effort, we could achieve that extraordinary result”, said Franko.