Cyprus’ Olympic House marks 20 years since its official opening on Saturday, two decades after the building was inaugurated as a permanent home for the island’s Olympic movement and sporting federations.

The building officially opened its doors on September 26, 2006, just 20 months after its foundation stone was laid on January 12, 2005, the Cyprus Olympic Committee (COC) said on Friday.

The project was conceived not simply as a new headquarters but as an investment in sport, the Olympic spirit and young people, according to the committee.

Its architectural design followed a nationwide competition and was undertaken by architects Eleftheria Sergidou and Vasilis Pasiourtides. The building was designed around three dimensions of the Olympic ideal, the universal, historical and sporting.

The inauguration in 2006 brought a number of leading figures from the international Olympic movement and Cyprus together in Nicosia.

Among them were then International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, COC president Kikis N Lazarides and then president Tassos Papadopoulos.

The late Lambis Nicolaou, a member of the International Olympic Committee, then House president Demetris Christofias and representatives of Cyprus’ political and sporting leadership also attended.

The ceremony included a tour of the new building, a performance by the Diastasis cultural group and the unveiling of the inauguration plaque by Papadopoulos and Rogge.

An olive tree from Ancient Olympia was also planted in the grounds in the presence of Papadopoulos and then Greek deputy sports minister Giorgos Orfanos, symbolising peace, victory and Cyprus’ connection with the Olympic movement.

Rogge praised the building during his visit, saying he was not aware of an equivalent facility among the world’s 203 national Olympic committees operating at the time.

For Lazarides, who was instrumental in the creation of Olympic House, its importance lay primarily in what it could offer Cyprus’ sporting community, particularly younger generations, the COC said.

Twenty years later, the building remains the headquarters of the Cyprus Olympic Committee and houses the island’s sporting federations, bringing much of the country’s organised sporting community under one roof.

Its role has also expanded beyond sports administration.

Its conference halls, indoor facilities and outdoor areas host sporting, cultural, educational and social events, as well as meetings and other initiatives.

The COC said the building’s continued use two decades later reflected the original aim of creating a focal point for sport and Olympism in Cyprus.

“Twenty years of Olympic House. Twenty years of history. And a vision that continues,” the committee said.