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Visa Olympics of the Imagination

Visa Olympics of the Imagination allows children ages 10-14 to learn about the Olympic Movement while participating in an artistic competition. As a reward, they win an opportunity to attend the Olympic Games as guests of Visa. This global program is designed to teach children about the goals, ideals and history of the Olympic Games while exercising their imaginations. Winners receive the opportunity to attend the Olympic Games.

Visa launched the Visa Olympics of the Imagination program in 1994 to encourage children to think creatively and explore the history and values of the Olympic Games. Millions of children have taken part in the competition since its inception in 1994. To date, 255 children from 44 countries have attended the Olympic Games as guests of Visa.

For the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Visa Olympics of the Imagination art contest challenged school children to use their imaginations to create a piece of art based on the theme of global unity: "Show how the Olympic Games connect different cultures and capture the Beijing theme – One World, One Dream." The program ran from March 2007 through May 2008 in most countries.

"Dare to Dream", "Games for Peace" and "Unified World" are just a few of the unique themes created by the 30 winners of the "Visa Olympics of the Imagination" youth art competition held for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Each of the 30 winners and a parent or guardian will attend the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as guests of Visa Inc., a worldwide Olympic partner and the official payment system of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

More than one and a half million children entered the contest from 18 countries and regions around the world. The 30 VOI winners were selected from Brazil, Canada, Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.