Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, has today announced its plans alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to revolutionize the Paris 2024 broadcast experience for viewers and fans. New, first-of-its-kind footage – which will be captured and shared with Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – will play an integral role in opening the historic Opening Ceremony on the Seine River and the Olympic Games’ sailing competitions like never before.
As the Official Smartphone and Computing Equipment partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Samsung will harness its advanced mobile technology and 5G connectivity to provide a closer perspective of these iconic celebratory and competition moments. This new view, powered by Samsung Galaxy innovation, will not just help Paris 2024 deliver on its promise to be the most open Games ever, but also further Samsung’s legacy of innovation in support of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“In an increasingly connected society, Samsung Galaxy mobile technology has helped deepen and transform users’ relationships with the world, wherever they are. Having been a Worldwide Partner for nearly three decades, we know first-hand how important it is to create and enable the same meaningful connections at the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Stephanie Choi, EVP & Head of Marketing of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We’re honoured to be working closely with the IOC and OBS to provide high quality footage that will be part of a series of firsts at Paris 2024 and bring fans at home and onsite even closer to the excitement.”
In about a month, the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place outside of a stadium for the first time ever. Paris 2024 will see 10,500 athletes float down the Seine River in designated boats for each national delegation, in what aims to be the most open and accessible opening ceremony in history. Departing from the Austerlitz bridge, the iconic parade will follow a six-kilometre route through the centre of Paris, passing some of the official Olympic Games venues before the ceremony’s grand finale at the Trocadéro.
Galaxy S24 Ultra Gives Viewers Front Row Seat to the Games
To bring fans at home closer to the action and provide an intimate glimpse of athlete’s reactions during this once-in-a-lifetime voyage, Samsung will install more than 200 Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphones at the bow and sides of each of the 85 athlete vessels at the opening ceremony. The high-quality HDR footage taken with the Galaxy S24 Ultra devices will be shared and streamed via a private 5G network powered by Orange, the official mobile network provider of Paris 2024 in France. Orange will install more than a dozen of 5G antennas along the Seine to create the first-ever 5G standalone network in France, as this pioneering collaboration is designed to ensure a seamless 5G connectivity and viewing experience for fans around the world.
Samsung will also deploy the same technology for the sailing competitions in Marseille by installing the Galaxy S24 Ultra on each competition boat, letting fans experience the thrill of the race alongside their favourite Olympians and allowing them to truly get in on the action.
This presented a whole new set of challenges and months of research, development, and testing – in close collaboration with the OBS and Orange – to guarantee video quality and connectivity performance across various bodies of water and weather conditions, which can be windy with huge waves or extremely hot and sunny. Samsung and its partners addressed these challenges by leveraging the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Optical image stabilization (OIS) features, increasing transmission power, and installing relay towers on chase boat to ensure a seamless livestream experience for viewers.
“As host broadcaster of the Olympic Games, we’re incredibly excited about this partnership with Samsung which will allow a truly original perspective of Paris 2024, evolving the way in which fans will experience the Games,” said Yiannis Exarchos, Chief Executive Officer of OBS. “Samsung’s latest mobile innovation will allow millions of fans around the world to live and breathe the spirit, action and emotion of the Opening Ceremony and sailing competitions alongside their favourite athletes in real-time.”
Samsung’s Long-Running Contribution to the Games
This announcement marks the next stage of Samsung’s long-standing commitment, in close collaboration with the IOC, to drive digital transformation and deliver cutting-edge technology at the Games by opening up the latest mobile innovations to athletes, fans and communities alike. This originated with the first ‘Call Home’ program which allowed nearly 2,500 athletes to speak to their families back home for free in 1998, when access to mobile phones was limited. It continued with the Wireless Olympic Works (WOW) app, the first official Olympic information service on mobile. The WOW app was introduced to Olympic organizers via Samsung-supplied Palm OS phones at Athens 2004 and then was made available to the public at Vancouver 2010, providing fans with the latest Games-time updates straight to their mobile phones.
In addition to driving mobile innovation, Samsung has also contributed to how athletes, and staff, connect and communicate during the Games-time. Since Nagano 1998, Samsung has provided athletes and staff with a total of more than 120,000 mobile products.
Details of how Samsung will further leverage its technological capabilities to bring fans closer to athletes, in another Olympic first will be revealed in the coming weeks.