The good cooperation between the Olympic Channel and the International World Games Association (IWGA) is an important part of the legacy of The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. On the first anniversary of the multi-sport event, held from 20 to 30 July 2017, the Olympic Channel will once again show the highlights of the 222 gold medal competitions during “The World Games Week” on its global digital platform. From 20 to 29 July 2018, the Olympic Channel will celebrate the spirit of The World Games 2017 by presenting The World Games sports for 12 hours per day in programming blocks starting at 8:20, 16:20 and 00:20 daily on its digital linear channel on olympicchannel.com and its mobile apps.
The promotional video for The World Games Week can be watched here.
Hagen Bossdorf, IWGA TV and New Media Officer, emphasises the importance of this comprehensive review of The World Games 2017: "Thanks to the live coverage during the Games in Wroclaw, our event could be seen world-wide for the first time in its history. At the same time, broadcasting the competitions was an outstanding success for the Olympic Channel. The anniversary programme demonstrates the fascination of our sports and gives a fine impression of the biggest sporting event in Poland".
Olympic Channel General Manager Mark Parkman said: “One of the objectives of the Olympic Channel is to support all sports within the Olympic Movement, and not just those disciplines on the Olympic Programme. Our coverage of The World Games 2017 was one of our most successful live events to date on the global digital platform, and demonstrates the worldwide appeal in these sports.”
During his opening speech at SportAccord 2018 in Bangkok, IOC President Thomas Bach explicitly mentioned this success for the Olympic Channel and described the cooperation as a best-practice example.
The Olympic Channel and IWGA announced a cooperation agreement in April 2017. Throughout The World Games 2017, the Olympic Channel provided a 24/7 global linear channel, live event streaming and VOD replays, highlights shows, and daily news and social media coverage across its platforms.
The first-anniversary “The World Games Week” programme underlines the importance of cooperation between the Olympic Channel and The World Games. In this spirit, the two partners are now also working on successfully presenting the eleventh edition of The World Games – in Birmingham, Alabama in 2021 – to a huge world-wide audience.
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.
