Shaping the Games of the future: Four questions for Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director
Following the successful staging of both the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in the midst of a global pandemic and within a time span of only six months, we took the opportunity to catch up with Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director. We wanted to get his views on the way forward, the role of IKL in Games optimisation and how the Olympic Movement must work together to keep the Games relevant.
How do you see the Games of the future?
Christophe Dubi: This is a broad question, but I will try to keep it simple. In my view, the Games (i.e. the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) always reflect the state of society at a given point in time; that’s why they are in constant evolution. In the end, what matters is that the Games remain relevant and reflect excellence across all important sporting and societal areas. It’s not by replicating that you remain relevant. Whilst it is important to form traditions and build on best practice, you cannot stand still; you have to embrace change, new trends, progress and innovation. If you look at the important field of sustainability, we have seen huge developments over the past 20 years, and the Games reflect this evolution. This example also highlights that meaningful innovation must be a collective effort by all Games stakeholders – only then will we be successful.
What’s IKL’s role in supporting Games optimisation?
Christophe Dubi: For the Games’ preparation, each OCOG builds on past collective intelligence and then blends this best practice with innovation and progress. IKL plays a crucial role in transferring valuable knowledge from one OCOG to the next about specific core elements of the Games, which remain fairly constant. Just think of certain aspects of accreditation, food and beverage, protocol or venue management for example. IKL makes lessons learnt, insights and data on Games fundamentals accessible and useful. It enables the Olympic community to replicate and enhance good practices. In addition, this also helps to mitigate risks because Games organisation remains an ambitious and complex endeavour. It assembles millions of moving pieces across the whole spectrum of societal activities. It is fair to say that the work of IKL represents the foundation on which we build. Importantly, having this head start grants us the necessary time to work on the progress and innovations which are needed from one Games edition to the next. As I said earlier, I really see innovation as a collective duty. IKL plays a role in facilitating innovation, e.g. by bringing the right experts together or by providing views from other events or industries.
What’s the power of data in the IKL context?
Christophe Dubi: As a matter of principle, anything that is planned and delivered must be consumed. You absolutely cannot waste anything – be it food, energy, space or otherwise. Games delivery data sets, collected collaboratively by the IOC and the OCOG, are fundamental to calibre the volume of deliverables and the type of services as close as possible to consumption. Of course, there are ways to plan or operate following intuition or observation, but a more rigorous approach based on solid data gives everyone much more confidence that things are being done the right way, and allows OCOGs and the entire Olympic community to take informed decisions. That said, not everything can be replicated, and it is of course critical that data is correctly interpreted so that it can produce meaningful information for a new context. For instance, transport plans will vary a great deal depending on a city’s public transport system. Each case needs to be properly analysed. However, there are a number of operational considerations that do remain quite stable, e.g. regarding points of access into the venues and food and beverage in the Olympic Village or in spaces for volunteers. In such areas, you just have to get it right and ensure sustainability throughout the planning and delivery. I believe all efforts which we are undertaking, together with the OCOGs and other stakeholders in this field, are very worthwhile.
Can you share with us your top tip for the OCOGs in the IKL space?
Christophe Dubi: For the fundamentals, don’t try and reinvent the wheel. While it’s good to challenge what and how things were done in the past, it’s important to recognise what went well and then, if it makes sense, simply replicate. This provides OCOGs with more time to concentrate on the specificities, the differentiation, and the flavour of a Games edition. For instance, Paris 2024 staging the Opening Ceremony in the middle of the city along the River Seine.This is an example of a one-off attempt, a spectacular attempt, which will make for a long-lasting, collective memory.
One more point: I would also advise OCOGs to make best use of their IKL area to facilitate Games learning across the OCOG. The Games context is very special, and most of the OCOG workforce usually don’t have the opportunity to work on several Games editions. An OCOG’s IKL team should help any workforce member to understand the specificities of the Games and the complex interconnections between the different functional areas. It is quite an overwhelming environment because of its sheer volume and scope. The great thing is that an OCOG always attracts the best talent from the corresponding city, region and country. It’s fantastic to see so much passion and ambition behind Games organisation! IKL can invite these exceptional people to join the Games journey and, through various activities, navigate them through the Olympic world.