The Olympic Channel and The World Games organised a joint Media Workshop on 13-14 November in Madrid. On the agenda there were matters related to live TV production, social media and how to pitch news stories for distribution. Experts from the Olympic Channel, The World Games, Twitter and Google presented the latest updates and trends from their areas as well as answered questions from participants. As a perfect start for the workshop, the Chief of the Olympic Channel Swiss office, Jochen Färber, moderated a discussion about “how to do more with less” when it comes to resources.
IWGA President José Perurena was present at the workshop. “I am very pleased with our cooperation with the Olympic Channel in general and regarding this Media Workshop in particular. We had two very good and informative days in Madrid with many engaging presentations and discussions”, he says. “It was also encouraging to see how well the people from our federations communicate and cooperate with each other and IWGA staff – in many ways we are all in the same situation and meet the same challenges in our communication work.I hope that the cooperation will continue and grow within The World Games family, and these Workshops are excellent opportunities for that. All the feedback we have received so far from the workshop participants has been extremely positive.”
Olympic Channel General Manager Mark Parkman added, “Our relationship with each sport within the Olympic Movement is at the core of the Olympic Channel’s output, and our great collaboration with the IWGA has already proven to be fruitful with the success of The World Games in 2017. As we look ahead to Birmingham 2021, we share a common goal to increase both the size of the audience and active participation for their sports. It is important for us to work together in our collective efforts to promote their sports and to help grow their audiences worldwide, and we hope this workshop provided the federations with useful insights and tools on how they can achieve more value through our partnerships.”
On the first evening of the Workshop, the participants got to take part in the inauguration of the exhibition “The Olympic Games: Behind the Screen”, which provides a living history of how modern media conveys the Olympic values around the world. The exhibition has a new, permanent home at the headquarters of Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and the Olympic Channel in Madrid.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch was joined by Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee; Jose Perurena, Marisol Casado, IOC Member and President of the International Triathlon Union; Antonio Espinos, President of the World Karate Federation; Francis Gabet, Director of the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage; Olympic broadcasting pioneer Manolo Romero, and Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of OBS and Executive Director of the Olympic Channel to officially open the exhibition.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.