Olympic Games 2024: Bach applauds China for history-making cloud, AI tech

Cloud technology has surpassed satellite for the first time to become the main way to broadcast the Olympic Games, increasing broadcasting speeds at a lower cost.

For the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) OBS and Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of China's internet giant Alibaba, co-developed the OBS Cloud 3.0 for the opening ceremony of the Games.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach attended the official opening of Alibaba Wonder Avenue on Saturday, hailing the impact that Alibaba's AI expertise is already having on the Olympic Movement.

"Alibaba's Wonder Avenue is the latest example of how our partnership is taking the Olympic Movement into the digital age," he said.

"Alibaba plays an essential role when it comes to supporting technology during the Olympic Games, greatly increasing the efficiency and sustainability of Olympic Games operations. Our partnership also extends beyond the Olympic Games, with Alibaba playing a defining role in our Olympic AI Agenda, helping us harness the great potential of AI in a responsible way. All these examples highlight how Alibaba is the perfect partner when it comes to shaping our digital future."

In addition, a total of 11,000 hours of competitive live-feeds are expected to be distributed via OBS Cloud to over 200 countries and regions around the world. The OBS has installed multi-camera replay systems in 14 venues to provide frame-freeze slow-motion replays for sports like rugby, table tennis, athletics, skateboarding and other events. Other technologies, including AI, were also utilized in 14 venues to give global viewers a more immersive experience of the games.

Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, told CGTN that "One of the things that we are doing with Alibaba, which I think is fascinating, and you will see in the Games of Paris, is that we will be generating 360 degree replay. So we will freeze at some moment."

"We will be able to go all around the athlete. This is important, not just because it's very interesting visually, but also because it allows the viewers to better understand what the athletes are actually doing, to understand and appreciate what is the level of athleticism that is required to become an Olympic athlete. And also, it helps audiences and especially younger generations, better understand the sport," the CEO added.

"Cloud is extremely important for a major event like the Olympics. Cloud is all about scalability, how you can grow an infrastructure in a very easy and efficient manner. And this is certainly something that is required for a broadcast event like covering the Olympic Games, where it's really all about size," said Sotiris Salamouris, chief technology officer of OBS.

"We have so much broadcast to do and there is so much time available and resources available in a short period of time, that cloud really give us the option to use this kind of infrastructure, establish it in a very, very small period of time, make it used only while it is used, so essentially for the two weeks of the Games, and then take it down after the Games are over. So it's a service that fits very well in the profile of technology use during the Olympic Games," Sotiris Salamouris added.