Paris Olympics still registering more records for Bach and the IOC
LAUSANNE: The Olympic Games continues breaking its own, and sport’s, popularity records.
An Olympic summer of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne heard from president Thomas Bach and his directors of the independent study revealing that nearly five billion people followed the 2024 Paris Games, more than ever before – or, to put it another way, 84pc of the estimated potential global audience.
The record that can be explained by the evoltionary escalation of digital platforms. An IOC statement said: “The number of interactions following the 270 million publications on social media is estimated at 412 billion, an increase of 290pc compared with the previous Games.”
This was not all. Rights holders generated 13 times more interactions on social networks than for the 2021 Tokyo Games.
The IOC itself benefited, with its social media and digital platforms generating 16.7bn interactions, an increase of 174pc. The number of internet searches related to Olympic sports and the Games increased by 200pc compared with the Tokyo Games.
Some 28.7bn hours of images were viewed worldwide on the platforms of media rights holders. In concrete terms, this means that each viewer watched an average of nine hours of programming, an increase of 20pc.
The relevance of the Olympics to Gen Z is now greater than that of the population as a whole and, in France, even more spectacular: 95pc of the potential audience watched an average of 24 hours of Olympic Games coverage.
Bach said: “Independent surveys show that the public believes the Olympic Movement’s mission to unite the world in peaceful competition is more important than ever in a divided world, and that Olympic values truly resonate with younger generations. These Olympic Games were truly the Games of a new era.”
The numbers support his statement, especially regarding youth.
The IOC added: “According to an independent brand awareness study conducted in September 2024, the relevance of the Olympic Games to Generation Z now surpasses that of the general population. This is largely due to the ‘inspiring stories of the athletes,’ the ‘buzz on social media,’ and ‘improved content accessibility.'”
The same goes for the mission of peace attributed to Olympism. “In consumer studies, 78pc of respondents stated that they believed the Olympic Games are more important than ever in a divided world. Three out of four also feel that the IOC has succeeded in ‘bringing the world together in peaceful competition’ and in ‘building a better world through sport.'”
