Paris 2024 | Technological Innovations during the Summer Olympics
“Technology is only as good as your people,” said Michèle Hyron, Chief Systems Integrator for ATOS at Tokyo 2020. Over the years, the Olympic Games have continually evolved, with technological advancements pivotal in this transformation. The dawn of the 21st century marked a significant acceleration in this evolution, driven by the digital era. One of the most impactful changes has been the transition of IT infrastructure to the cloud, addressing the sustainability challenges inherent to large-scale events. ATOS, the IOC's worldwide IT partner, has spearheaded the integration of diverse technological systems, ensuring seamless operations and enhanced experiences for all stakeholders. The Olympics have embraced innovation at every turn, from the early days of physical data centres to the ongoing incorporation of cutting-edge technologies like AI, data hubs, and advanced analytics. Recently, the IOC's announcement of its AI agenda underscores the potential of artificial intelligence to support athletes, augmenting human performance without replacing it. With Paris 2024 almost upon us, let's delve into the technological innovations set to enhance the overall experience. We have tried to be as complete as possible, going through various verticals, from athletic performance (and officiating) to spectator mobility, fan engagement sustainability and viewership quality.
Let the Paris 2024 Games Begin!
The Olympic Games are probably the biggest sports event in the world to organise. Logistics are immensely complex because there are so many stakeholders. ATOS has been working for years to deliver a 24/7 operation serving all Olympic stakeholders, from athletes and fans to broadcasters, media, workforce, and volunteers. The program they built includes over 150 IT applications and has been tested over 250,000 hours using data from previous Olympics.
Innovation and the Startup Ecosystem at Paris 2024
Despite the inherent challenges of operating in a no-risk environment, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have embraced a forward-thinking approach by leveraging the startup ecosystem to drive innovation. The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (COJO) has made significant efforts to foster creativity and technological advancement while ensuring safety and reliability. Through these efforts, COJO has not only succeeded in integrating innovative solutions into the Games but is also committed to sharing its best practices with other international federations and sports organisations. This knowledge transfer will provide valuable insights into the key do's and don'ts of implementing innovation in large-scale events.
A total of 17 startups (SUPs), 16 of which are French, are set to deploy their solutions at Paris 2024. Among them, Kinomap, in collaboration with Sports Heroes, is facilitating remote and connected races such as the "Marathon for All," a notable initiative that allows global participation in the Olympic marathon through virtual platforms. Wintics, a facial recognition startup, has won two calls for tenders from the Ministry of the Interior for local authorities and in transport in order to "transform videos into statistical data. On the other hand, Inpulse, a food tech startup, will use predictive AI to better manage restaurant owners' stocks and orders.
While details on many of the other startups' contributions remain confidential, their involvement is already generating successful outcomes and highlighting the positive impact of startup engagement in the Games.
In addition to focusing on startups, Paris 2024 prioritises small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Recognising the importance of supporting advanced-stage companies in their growth phase, particularly within Europe and France, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has awarded over 75% of its Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to small businesses. This strategy not only stimulates local economic growth but also underscores the Games' success in fostering a diverse and inclusive business environment, driving a tangible legacy for the hosting country. Through these initiatives, Paris 2024 demonstrates a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and economic development, setting a precedent for future international sporting events.
Paris 2024: Where AI Takes Over Completely?
Technology and its advances rarely fail to keep pace with us humans. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, particularly in sports, where fans were restricted from attending in-person events. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were notably affected, with events held behind closed doors. Three years later, Artificial Intelligence exploded in our daily lives. Once viewed as primarily an "R&D discipline," AI has evolved into "an industry first and then a science." Despite its rapid rise and diverse applications across industries, the sports industry is now embracing a more comprehensive adoption of AI.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are set to showcase a new era where AI takes centre stage. Dubbed as AI’s testing ground for the wide variety of applications the technology is poised to have at the games. From enhancing athlete training and performance analysis to adding new dimensions in fan engagement, broadcasting and immersive experiences, AI's integration seems promising and crucial for its integration in other sporting competitions.
This evolution, accelerated by the pandemic's digital push and the advent of Web 3.0 technologies, marks AI's journey from a research field to a pivotal industry force. As anticipation builds, the Games will likely highlight how AI reshapes sports, offering unprecedented insights and experiences for athletes, fans, and stakeholders.
Paris 2024 to Serve Fans
Following a spectatorless Tokyo 2020, this year, around 12 million fans are expected to flock to Paris for the games, with a grand opening ceremony planned along the Seine. The IOC, Paris 2024 committees, and their stakeholders are eager to seize this opportunity. Plenty of innovations are supposed to take place across multiple domains to produce and deliver the games to the world and the fans. We will take a look at these in this section.
Broadcast Technology
As part of OMEGA’s suite of innovations released for the games, Vionardo, a 4K ultra-high-definition graphics technology, will be deployed as one of the broadcast innovations. It will deliver real-time images in multiple languages and enable remote graphics production, enhancing broadcast efficiency and reducing on-site equipment needs.
France Televisions’ Role
France Télévisions will showcase its innovations across multiple domains, from remote production technologies to advanced IP-based workflows. For the Olympic torch relay coverage, the French broadcaster used a 100% cloud-based production solution and private 5G networks to deliver high-quality live broadcasts whilst aiming to be sustainable.
The deployment of cloud production and connectivity, coupled with hyper-mobility, allows for more flexible and responsive coverage, enhancing content production without increasing budgets. Their UHD and HDR technologies, tested during Roland Garros in May 2024, will provide audiences with a superior viewing experience. Additionally, integrating AI-driven speech-to-text and translation services will streamline the processing of thousands of files daily.
With 30% more content to be produced, video production processes will again be optimised using AI. The technology will be used for automated highlight clipping, dubbing, and commentary in different languages to offer content to diverse fan bases across the globe.
AI-enhanced multi-camera replay service
On another note, The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to test an AI-enhanced multi-camera replay service. This system leverages machine learning and deep neural networks to create detailed 3D models from footage captured by strategically positioned cameras around the venues. This allows for creating virtual frames from new viewpoints, making rotations smoother and more realistic. This AI-enabled replay system will be implemented at 12 competition venues for beach volleyball, tennis, judo, rugby, and more.OBS will also introduce cinematic lenses for the first time. These cine-style cameras, with a shallow depth of field, will capture athletes’ emotions, fans’ reactions, and the atmosphere in the stands.
OBS & Alibaba Cloud’s AI-enhanced multi-camera replay service
As part of Paris 2024’s “Games Wide Open” campaign, eleven thousand hours of content will tell the stories of the Olympians in new ways. Fans stand a chance to experience behind-the-scenes footage, athlete and coach interviews, and comprehensive pre- and post-competition coverage, and they can get even closer to the Games across all platforms.
Engagement via Gamification
In a bid to engage fans via tangible means, the IOC released its official mobile game in conjunction with partners nWay. This hybrid casual sports and simulation game combines city-building elements with arcade-style Olympic events, offering fans a unique and immersive experience. Players can compete in events like breaking, fencing, archery, golf, and swimming while building their dream city around iconic Olympic venues.
The game's release ahead of the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony is poised to significantly enhance global fan engagement, providing an interactive way for fans to connect with the Olympic spirit and build anticipation for the Games. For stakeholders of the IOC and its partners, this initiative not only strengthens and promotes the Olympic brand but also extends fan interaction beyond the event itself through the IOC’s global licensing programme. By integrating official merchandise and collectables, the game provides a tangible connection to the Olympic values, fostering a deeper emotional bond with fans and potentially driving revenue through in-game purchases and official Olympic merchandise sales.
Social Media and Digital Media to Cultivate Social Experiences
From a digital engagement perspective, Snapchat is set to deliver content in France, the UK, and other European countries through its collaboration with broadcaster Warner Bros. Discovery. The social media platform aims to attract new viewers from younger demographics (18 to 24-year-olds) whose interest in sports has grown. By hosting a dedicated Olympics show featuring official highlights and behind-the-scenes content every day of the Games, WBD will provide sports content to its target audience. The goal is to engage fans not only with the sporting action but also by adding dynamic entertainment through unique insights shared by athletes, celebrities, and fans.
Arguably, the Olympic Games are a landmark event and are the biggest in sports. Events of such magnitude have often questioned whether they are meeting sustainability requirements. Digital technologies have an environmental impact that can be underestimated purely because they generate less impact than physical equipment. To this tune, the IOC has adopted an approach in which the ticketing platform, mobile applications, games and other software have been developed in line with eco-design best practices. For example, digital content will be focused on static images rather than animated content (which tends to generate more engagement in subjective cases) because of their smaller file size. For the Club Paris 2024 site, these eco-design practices have helped reduce the carbon impact by almost 57% compared with its initial version.
A Green Olympics or Will History Repeat Itself?
Rio 2016’s environmental legacy is certainly not the benchmark large-scale sports event organisers would consider. Marketed as a “green event,” Rio 2016 promised to plant 24 million trees, of which only 8 million were actually planted. To illustrate, existing golf courses that could be renovated for the games were completely neglected, and new courses were built, increasing the carbon footprint that arises from construction efforts. Tokyo 2020 was able to decrease its carbon footprint due to negligible fan mobility. But as the games in Paris come around, will history repeat itself from 2016?
Well, the COJO (Local Organising Committee of Paris 2024) has made efforts to ensure that this is not the case. We’ve listed some of their initiatives here:
Renewable Energy
Events of such magnitude require small changes and shifts to have a larger impact. In this context, Paris 2024 has facilitated more energy-efficient facilities by installing less energy-intensive LED lights and reducing the number of electrical equipment such as sockets, printers, and screens. Moreover, all venues will be connected to the public electricity network in France, omitting the need for high energy-consuming diesel generators to power the games. This electricity network, in turn, is ingested with renewable energy of wind or solar origin produced in France. Paris 2024 aims to mark its legacy with respect to energy utilisation and carbon emission offset, and these measures will certainly be once evaluated post the event.
Preserving the Biodiversity of all venues:
Only one venue for the games, the Aquatic Center in Saint-Denis, has been constructed from the ground up. All other venues are temporary or part of Paris's existing infrastructure. These venues, whether rural like Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines or urban like Place de la Concorde, are susceptible to environmental concerns posed by the games. To address this and preserve the legacy potential of these venues, Paris 2024 regularly monitors each project, especially in sensitive areas, to minimise its impact on local biodiversity and heritage.
Sustainable and Creative Food
France will produce an estimated thirteen million meals during the Olympics, a massive catering operation with significant ecological concerns related to waste, production methods, and energy consumption. To address these issues, the menu will feature a healthy, gourmet, and creative diet with twice as much plant-based food, 80% of which is of French origin and sourced within 250 kilometres of Paris, with 30% being organic. Recognising that meat consumption is less environmentally friendly and that many athletes have shifted to more vegetarian or plant-based diets, the games will offer athletes fully vegetarian meal options.
Smart Mobility
Île-de-France Mobilités, the region's transport authority, in collaboration with the Paris 2024 committee, has invested significantly to ensure a seamless commuting experience for all stakeholders during the games. For example, over 20,000 new bicycle stands have been added around the venues to promote cycling and ecological transportation. Additionally, over 400 kilometres of cycling paths have been constructed, allowing spectators to access venues and navigate the city effortlessly by bicycle.
Improving The Game: Talent Identification, Performance & Officiating
The core of the Olympics is sports, and Paris 2024 is an ideal field to introduce new technologies to improve them. This year, some Olympics Official Partners such as Intel, Omega or Samsung are bringing technological advancements to benefit the sports globally.
First, Intel and Samsung will deploy a brand new AI-powered talent identification platform at the Stade De France. With Samsung's smartphones, tablets, computer vision technology and Intel's cloud-based AI, participants can perform various sports-related exercises and then receive Intel's suggestions on which Olympic sport they should pursue. Intel in Africa piloted the talent scouting project with the Senegalese Olympic Committee, where local youth who showed potential as athletes for the Youth Olympic Games scheduled for 2026 were identified. The long-term goal of this new project is to reduce discrimination and promote inclusivity among athletes.
Despite the program’s large-scale deployment at Paris 2024, the AI-powered talent identification platform is designed to be used by aspiring athletes worldwide outside of the Olympic games as well.
OMEGA, the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games, has introduced its own technological advancements to enhance the accuracy of sports timing and provide in-depth data analytics. Its advanced ‘Scan'O'Vision ULTIMATE’ tech, capable of capturing up to 40,000 digital photographs per second, will ensure precise results in athletics and track cycling, even in close finishes. Additionally, OMEGA's Computer Vision Technology (driven by AI) will monitor athlete movements in real-time across various sports, offering deep insights and aiding rapid decision-making through advanced replay capabilities. OMEGA and the impact of its tech at this year’s Olympics is definitely one to follow, as it aims to provide precision timing and enriched analytical data for athletes, viewers, and authorities at 329 events across 32 sports.
Finally, officiating also plays a major role in complementing/enhancing the attractiveness of sport for all stakeholders. As one of the highlight partnerships of this article, the Volleyball competition will witness cutting-edge automatic ball-tracking technology delivered by data service provider Bolt 6 in conjunction with its contemporary Hawkeye’s renowned video officiating system, already prevalent in multiple sports leagues around the world. With Bolt6’s automated ball tracking tech, “in/out” challenges can be preserved by athletes for more complex reviews, reducing breaks of play due to challenges and 25% of the processing time that used to be taken by officials before the introduction of Bolt 6.
It's no secret how influential AI is poised to be at Paris 2024. Most of the tech innovations that we have covered in this piece seem to include a tinge of AI. And why shouldn’t they? Grabbing eyeballs and attention is what most commercial stakeholders seek in today’s time. With diverse mediums to access content, fans have an increasing desire to be engaged uniquely, immersively and more personally. The answer? AI - The modern-day win-win for all.
AI-powered tools will offer spectators real-time highlights, tailored content, and enhanced interactivity, bringing the games closer to viewers than ever before.
For commercial stakeholders, including organising committees and commercial partners, these technological advancements represent a new era of engagement and operational efficiency. AI systems are not only enhancing broadcast quality but are also playing a crucial role in athlete welfare. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) implementation of AI to shield athletes from online abuse marks a significant step in promoting a safe and supportive environment for competitors, reflecting a commitment to both innovation and athlete protection.
Besides, the IOC’s commercial partners will benefit from increased audience engagement and data-driven insights, enabling more targeted and effective marketing strategies. The advancements in broadcast and online safety measures highlight the collaborative efforts to deliver a seamless and secure Olympic experience, ensuring that the spirit of the games is celebrated globally.
In essence, the Paris 2024 Olympics will not only showcase athletic prowess but also set a new standard for technological integration in sports, promising an event that is more interactive, personalised, inclusive, and secure for all involved.
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