Discover the latest news from the OCOGs

Beijing conducts extensive round of structured interviews

From 8 to 29 June, Beijing 2022, together with the IOC’s IKL team, implemented its fourth structured interview project. Some 72 participants from across 55 FAs were interviewed remotely with the support of the Beijing 2022 Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) team. The interviewees covered the progress made over the past six months; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their participation in test activities and countermeasures; their collaboration with various FAs, Games stakeholders and delivery partners; the successes achieved; and the challenges tackled. The experience and knowledge shared by the Beijing 2022 staff during these interviews will be transferred by the IOC to future OCOGs as references for their Games preparations and delivery.

Paris 2024 optimises learning opportunities for Tokyo experience

With Tokyo 2020 offering a unique opportunity for Paris 2024 to observe Games-time operations, the OCOG’s IKL, PEM, GFS and INO (Innovation) teams have been working hand in hand to create the best learning pathway for every staff member.

Jérémie Guy from Paris 2024 explains: “We want to make sure everyone will benefit from the Tokyo 2020 Games experience, whether they participate in the GEP in Tokyo or remotely from Paris. This is all the more important in the current context, since the size of the Paris 2024 delegation in Tokyo has been significantly reduced. Paris 2024 would like to express its deepest thanks to Tokyo 2020 and all the people involved in the organisation of the GEP in these unprecedented circumstances. ありがとうございました Tokyo! 頑張れ！頑張れ”

The learning pathway includes training modules on Japanese culture, as well as a session on how to adopt the right state of mind to be a “good observer”. Paris 2024 has also conducted a detailed analysis of the COVID-19 countermeasures put in place in Tokyo in order to understand their impact on the relevance of the various observations to be undertaken.

In this particular context, Paris 2024 is collaborating with the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) and the IOC to optimise the use of the GEP Connect application and adapt it to meet the observers’ needs during their journey in Tokyo. In parallel, there is close coordination between the IOC and the Paris 2024 data-capture teams to ensure that the data-capture exercise and the GEP programme complement each other.

Milano Cortina 2026 gets ready for Tokyo 2020…and Beijing 2022

Milano Cortina 2026 is another OCOG that is very much focusing on preparing its delegation for the observations at Tokyo 2020. As is the case for all other future OCOGs, the size of the Milano Cortina 2026 team travelling to Tokyo to observe onsite Games operations had to be reduced due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The selected staff cover key functions like Technology, Events, Games Delivery (venues, press ops, transport, sport), OPFS, Paralympic Games and Games Learning, Project Coordination and Sustainability and Legacy.

“We have collaborated closely with the IOC’s IKL team and Tokyo 2020 to ensure the most relevant learning opportunities for our colleagues,” explains Thanos Kostopoulos, the OCOG’s Director of Paralympic Integration & Games Learning. “We also pay great attention to respecting and complying with all the regulations addressed in the Playbook and will organise internal briefings prior to departure to ensure our delegation is fully aware of the situation onsite.”

At the same time, Milano Cortina 2026 has started to work on the Games Learning Strategy for Beijing 2022, which will be an important milestone for the OCOG. This strategy will serve to set out a clear vision of how the OCOG will capture and utilise learnings from the Beijing 2022 Games to enhance knowledge acquisition for its own Olympic and Paralympic Games planning and delivery. It is about assessing the necessary competencies versus the status quo and identifying potential gaps. These gaps will then be addressed through the IOC IKL Games Learning Programme and the OCOG’s internal learning initiatives.

The collection of data and statistics is another project that Milano Cortina 2026 is currently reviewing in the light of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Important data sets such as venue operations (e.g. use of the back-of-house spaces), transport operations (e.g. use of TA/TM, T3, etc.), Olympic Village operations (e.g. use of main dining hall), workforce management (e.g. numbers of volunteers, attrition rates), food and beverage (e.g. meals planned per stakeholder group) and data based on stakeholder needs (including both the Olympic and Paralympic Games) will be collected by Beijing 2022 and the IOC IKL team. Subsequently, this data will be analysed and used for planning purposes for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

In addition, the first structured interviews will be conducted with OCOG staff following the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and should be completed by the end of October.