The award-winning works from this year’s Comic Strip Olympiad, themed “Perfect 10” and dedicated to Nadia Comaneci’s historic 1976 Montreal Olympic performance, will be showcased to Belgian audiences in an exhibition organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels.
“The Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels, in cooperation with the Saint-Gilles City Hall and the women’s artistic gymnastics club L’Ancienne de Saint-Gilles (ASG), is organizing the comic-strip exhibition ‘Nadia Comaneci – A Drawn Story’, featuring the prize-winning works of the sixth edition of the Comic Strip Olympiad. The opening will take place on May 29 at 15:30 at the L’Ancienne de Saint-Gilles headquarters (Rue du Métal 40, 1060 Saint-Gilles), in the presence of local authorities and the club’s gymnasts. The exhibition, marking 2026 – The Nadia Comaneci Year, will be open until June 14, 2026, Monday to Friday, 9:00 – 19:00. The works evoke the historic moment of the 1976 Olympic competition and highlight the universal impact of a performance that transcended sport, becoming a symbol of excellence, perseverance and inspiration,” the organizers said in a statement.
The Brussels exhibition brings together 20 comic-strip panels illustrating Nadia Comaneci’s story and her path to performance.
The works were created by pupils participating in the 2026 Comic Strip Olympiad, a globally unique competition held this year under the theme “Perfect 10”, honouring Nadia’s historic achievement. Pupils from across Romania, from first to twelfth grade, took part, demonstrating creativity and artistic sensitivity in reinterpreting one of the most important moments in sports history.
Initiated by author and teacher Mihai-Ionut Grajdeanu, the Comic Strip Olympiad is organized under the aegis of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and the Romanian Olympic Academy, under the patronage of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO. The winners of the 2026 edition were awarded on May 15 at the Museum of Sport in Bucharest, with a selection of the winning works now being presented to the Belgian public.
In a message to the participants, Nadia Comaneci emphasized the importance of creativity and inspiration for new generations: “Dear children, I wish you great success at the Comic Strip Olympiad. This is the sixth edition and I can’t wait to see your creativity, authenticity and competitive spirit. I am honored to hear that this year’s theme is ‘Perfect 10’, in tribute to the first historic 10 at Montreal.”
All exhibition texts will be presented in Romanian and French, helping promote an iconic figure of Romanian sport and her success story to local audiences.
“The exhibition highlights the potential of sports diplomacy in promoting national values and shaping a country’s image, as well as in strengthening bilateral relations between Romania and Belgium. The choice of the comic strip is no coincidence, given that this storytelling format is the most popular literary genre in Belgium. Nadia – the drawn story celebrates a legacy that continues to inspire the world, building bridges between peoples and generations,” the organizers added.
The exhibition’s opening coincides with the official gala “Nadia Comaneci – 50 years since the first 10.00”, held the same day at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest as the central event of the national program 2026 – The Nadia Comaneci Year, marking 50 years since the first perfect 10 in world gymnastics history, achieved by Comaneci at the Montreal Olympic Games on July 18, 1976.
