Beijing Winter Olympics: IOC Chief Bach says digitalization changes Olympics in profound ways

Chief of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach met online with e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's CEO Daniel Zhang on Sunday to highlight the benefits of a more digital Olympics and the move to wider use of cloud technology. Dai Kaiyi has more.

The two took the chance to exchange views on some of the profound changes digitalisation has made to the Olympic Games.

THOMAS BACH President of the International Olympic Committee "China has already made history by surpassing the goal of engaging 300 million Chinese people with sport on snow and ice. Today, we can say: China is a winter sports country. This extraordinary achievement will change the landscape of winter sport around the world forever. Beijing 2022 will be the start of a new era for global winter sport."

Through Alibaba Cloud Me, a global real-time communication technology, Bach and Zhang were able to talk seamlessly even though one was in the closed-loop of the Winter Olympics while the other was in China's eastern city of Shanghai.

DANIEL ZHANG Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group "As Chairman Bach mentioned just now, the fact that we moved to the cloud comprehensively this time has also opened up a new chapter for the Olympic Games. Looking back at the history of the Olympic Games, in fact, every technological innovation and technological progress brings the Olympic Games' global influence to a new level."

COVID-19 brought challenges for sports gatherings especially on the scale of the Olympics, but both Bach and Zhang think cloud technology like this can narrow the communication gap and enhance the game-watching experience when in-person attendance isn't an option.

THOMAS BACH President of the International Olympic Committee "Already before the pandemic, digitalization was changing the Olympic Games in profound ways. Beijing 2022 will deepen this trend of engaging more people, more digitally than before."

Attending officials at the Olympics Media Center also agreed that this technology will help Beijing to stage a "simple, safe and splendid" Games, and better spread the Olympic spirit of faster, higher, stronger – together.

DAI KAIYI Beijing "IOC chief Thomas Bach says it's a perfect example of how technology is changing the way the world experiences the Olympics. He says this innovation makes a conversation happen in a much simpler way and is confident this new technology will better connect people, even during the COVID pandemic. DKY, CGTN, Beijing."