First World Broadcaster Meeting held in Paris as excitement builds two years ahead of the Opening Ceremony
On 26 July 2022, more than 270 participants, including 158 broadcast partner personnel, representing a total of 45 organisations; Paris 2024 and International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives; future hosts; and Worldwide Olympic Partners Alibaba, Intel and Panasonic descended on Paris for the first World Broadcaster Meeting (WBM) organised by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to discuss the broadcast coverage and preparations for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Organised in close cooperation with Paris 2024, this first WBM represents a major milestone in the preparations for the Games, with all broadcast organisations actively designing and planning their operations and looking for efficiencies.
The broadcasters visited the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at Le Bourget, which will serve as the broadcast hub for Paris 2024, as well as several competition venues within Paris and the Ile-de-France region, giving them an overview of the production and technical plans for the Games.
The session kicked off with a video welcome speech from Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet, greeting the broadcasters.
“The athletes, fields of play, spectators and beauty shots are just some of what is needed to tell the Paris 2024 story,” underlined Estanguet. “What the athletes and fans also need is you, the broadcasters. We at Paris 2024 value your role immensely.”
OBS Chief Executive Officer Yiannis Exarchos offered a warm welcome to the broadcasters and shared his excitement at showcasing the world’s best athletes against Paris’ spectacular backdrop.
“Seeing these incredible venues, this amazing city and backdrop, we all start feeling again the special inspiration only the Olympic Games can bring and the inspiration that Paris itself will bring to the Olympics,” said Exarchos in his opening remarks. “We couldn’t be happier to host you here.”
He continued: “During the venue tour, we have seen not only how far advanced the plans for Paris 2024 are, but also the physical reality of the Games. Paris is the first city where there will be a full implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which has a lot to do with Games that fit the city, and not the other way around. This is a city which already has incredible infrastructure for sport, and the Paris 2024 Games will without doubt leave a fantastic legacy for the city of Paris and the whole of France.”
The meeting coincided with the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 marking two years to go until the Opening Ceremony by unveiling the official slogan – “Ouvrons grand les Jeux” (French version) / “Games Wide Open” (English version). Breaking with Olympic tradition, the Opening Ceremony won't be held inside a stadium and will instead take place on the Seine river – a unique show in the heart of the city, which is expected to be watched by at least 600,000 spectators and billions of viewers worldwide.