World Television Day 2024: Five wacky moments in Olympic broadcasting history

Today (Thursday 21 November), the United Nations celebrates World Television Day, honouring the impact of visual media on global communications. It is a day to reflect on how the use of television has shaped the lives of people around the world, and in what ways the medium will be used in the future.

Of course, television has played a major role in the development and popularisation of the Olympic Games, allowing fans from nations all over the world to view the world's greatest sporting event from the comfort of their own home, dedicated public viewing areas and even on their mobile devices.

While much has changed in the last few decades, broadcast technology and television remain an integral part of the Olympic Games. From giving fans a glimpse inside the competition venues during live sessions, to delayed highlights for fans looking to catch up on daily action, television continues to play an important role in the media ecosystem of the Olympic Games.

In celebration of World Television Day, Olympics.com explores five wacky moments in Olympic broadcasting history that brought fans together through their humorous themes and light-hearted hi-jinks.

Mr. Bean hits the high note at London 2012

In an opening ceremony chock-full of celebrity cameos, one man stole the show: Rowan Atkinson.

Reviving his iconic character Mr. Bean, Atkinson accompanied the London Symphony Orchestra during an inconspicuous musical “Interlude” held in between artistic segments. However, not everything was as it seemed in this special performance.

Tasked with repeating a single note on the synthesiser from the bellows of the orchestra pit, Mr. Bean quickly grew bored by his role in the performance. After solving a quick tissue issue, he nodded off, drifting into a dream centred around a famous scene from the award-winning film Chariots of Fire - based on a pair of athletes who competed in the Olympic Games Paris 1924.

Adding his own comedic twist to the much-beloved scene, Mr. Bean awoke to silence and the apparent displeasure of conductor Simon Rattle, who implored him to play the final high note and conclude the performance.

The segment has become a beloved part of Olympic broadcast history, with a clip of Atkinson’s performance amassing 128.2 million views on the Olympics YouTube Channel.

DJ uses John Lennon’s “Imagine” to sow peace under the Eiffel Tower at Paris 2024

Music has long played a supporting role at the Olympic Games. Whether it be through special performances at the opening ceremony, or ahead of competition sessions to pump up the crowd. Nevertheless, one enterprising DJ found a creative use for music during the women’s beach volleyball final at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

As the gold medal match between Brazilian duo Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa and Canadian pairing Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson reached the boiling point in a thrilling third set, John Lennon’s “Imagine” began playing over speakers at the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

Despite the tense mood after an argument at the net, players from both pairings sported a grin and applauded the DJ for his effort to defuse tensions. It was a picture-perfect scene under Paris’ most iconic landmark, with the crowd coming together to sing along to the lyrics before the match resumed.

The heartfelt and humorous gesture became a viral sensation at the conclusion of Paris 2024, with a short clip of a surprisingly wholesome moment garnering 19 million views on YouTube.

Usain Bolt v. Andre De Grasse: Rivals take a moment to appreciate one another at Rio 2016

As illuminated by the women’s beach volleyball final at Paris 2024, tensions can rise quickly in the heat of competition. The testosterone-filled world of sprinting in athletics is no exception.

At the Olympic Games Rio 2016, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt entered the competition as the favourite for the gold medal in the men’s 100m and 200m. He succeeded in defending his 100m crown, but he would need to beat a field overflowing with rising stars, world championship finalists and Olympic medallists to add another 200m medal to his collection.

After running a confident time of 20.28 seconds to advance out of the heats, Bolt would come face-to-face with one of his biggest potential rivals in the semifinals: Canada’s Andre De Grasse.

De Grasse had finished behind Bolt in both the semifinals and final of the men’s 100m and was eager to flip the script on the Jamaican star in the men’s 200m. The pair were drawn in the same semifinal heat and ran an evenly matched race.

As the duo approached the finish line nearly dead-even, they exchanged some friendly looks and even cracked a smile, acknowledging the unique stakes of the situation, before crossing the finish in first and second place to advance to the final.

While Bolt would ultimately get the best of De Grasse in the final, the moment went viral, cementing the legacy of a wholesome and assuming act of sportsmanship.

“Flying” fish star in open water events at Tokyo 2020

While athletes, actors and DJs star in nearly every edition of the Olympic Games, it’s not often that non-human personalities make the highlight reel. However, a handful of very determined, and often acrobatic, fish became a beloved fixture of marathon swimming and triathlon events during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Leaping into the air at Odaiba Marine Park, these aquatic divas shared the spotlight with Olympic champions like Kristian Blummenfelt, Flora Duffy, Florian Wellbrock and Ana Marcela Cunha.

One fish even got a little too close to the action during the women’s marathon swimming 10km final, bumping into eventual bronze medallist Kareena Lee of Australia.

"It jumped up and hit me (on the chest),” she told Reuters after the event. “I didn't know what it was at first and I was like 'woah'."

Her amazement matched the excitement of the spectators around the world, who enjoyed the levity brought to the intense finals by the “flying” fish.

Mary Carillo reveals the true horrors of recreational badminton during Athens 2004

Sometimes it’s the action away from the venues that creates the most buzz around a sport. Just ask Mary Carillo, who used a short, allegedly explanatory, segment during NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games Athens 2004 to tout the equipment used in badminton competitions at the Olympic Games, while taking a humorous jab at the recreational side of the sport.

She began by comparing the equipment used in the two versions of the sport, before honing in on the recreational shuttlecock with a “tree-seeking device” supposedly implanted somewhere within.

Carillo then shifts to a story that oozes lived experience, where children from around her neighbourhood attempt to get the shuttlecock out of a tree by various means. Through all the twists and turns, she guides American viewers on a tale worthy of a gold medal in storytelling.

Her humorous take on the recreational component of the sport lives on as a relatable experience for parents with active kids, and potentially, Olympic dreams.