The city of Lausanne and the Swiss canton of Vaud, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee and Omega yesterday unveiled the first permanent countdown clock for the Olympic Games on the Place de la Navigation in Lausanne, the city that is home to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee.

In addition to highlighting Lausanne’s role as Olympic Capital and counting down the day, hours, minutes and seconds to the next Summer and Winter Olympic Games, the clock was also presented as a tribute to IOC President Jacques Rogge, whose term of office comes to an end in September.

The Omega Olympic Games countdown clock in Lausanne

The four-metre high structure weighs 20 tonnes and consists of limestone blocks from Switzerland’s Jura region that have the pictograms of the sports that feature at the Olympic Games engraved on them. The logos for the individual Olympic Games can be easily modified, which will allow the clock to serve as a permanent reminder to the scores of tourists and locals who pass by on their way to the shores of Lake Geneva.