The Olympic Games: Behind the Screen

An exploration of the world of Olympic broadcasting

From 19 February 2015 to 26 January 2016, The Olympic Museum is presenting "The Olympic Games: Behind the Screen." This exhibition explores the history of broadcasting the Games on radio and television, as well as looking at how the Games will be experienced in the future.

The exhibition looks at the universal dimension of broadcasting from two angles: the new technology used in the cause of sporting excellence, and the creation of emotions made possible by content broadcasting systems.

The first part of the exhibition is called: hearing and seeing the Games. Here, the focus is on the pioneers of radio broadcasting, those whose words allowed their listeners’ imaginations to take flight as they followed the champions in action. With images, the way the Games were seen on television was gradually influenced by the camera positions in the stadiums and technological developments

The second part of the exhibition takes visitors into the magic world of Games broadcasting. Transported to London on 29 July 2012, between 3 and 4 p.m., they get to experience one hour of broadcasting the Games. They see the journey taken by the images and sounds of the 20 sports competitions under way at 18 different venues, from the field of play to screens around the world. Original features reveal the technological skills and creativity of the technicians and those filming on the ground, and the importance of each camera to the narration of the athletes’ performances and emotions. Two animated films by Belgian director Denis van Waerebeke take visitors into secret places like the outside broadcast vehicle and the International Broadcasting Centre. Visitors can also test their talent for commentating on a competition at the Games.

Finally, the exhibition looks ahead to the future of broadcasting. This third part gives visitors a foretaste of the new ways of experiencing the Games live, and reveals how the emotions generated by the Games are seen on social media, future image quality and a surprising 360-degree way of filming sport.

The interactive scenography created by the Paris-based company Projectiles takes visitors behind the scenes of broadcasting the Games and the magic of live coverage by using innovative interactive features.

This unusual exhibition makes use of the IOC’s vast range of images and videos, and reveals the spectacular camera systems used for the 2012 Games in London.

The Scientific Commissioner for the "The Olympic Games: Behind the Screen" exhibition is Jim Owens, Dean, School of Communication Arts & Professor of Media Communication at Asbury University in Wilmore, USA. The exhibition has been developed in partnership with the Lausanne Federal Polytechnic and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the IOC company which coordinates production of the images of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Museum opening times:

1 May to 19 October: open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

20 October to 30 April: open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed on Mondays except Easter Monday, 25th December and 1st January

Price:

Ticket for The Olympic Museum: 18

CHF - including the exhibition (15€)

Ticket for only the exhibition: 5 CHF (4€)

For more information, please contact: Imogen Bailey, AGENDA ibailey@agendacom.comTel: +33 1 49 95 08 06

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