The Magic of Athletic Competition and The People Behind The Scenes Who Bring It To Us

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 begin tomorrow as a celebration of global togetherness and athletic excellence. The Games are the pinnacle of international sport and an amazing event to watch. When the world’s best cross the finish line with just milliseconds to spare, or a game-winning goal is scored to clinch the gold medal, the fan experience is euphoric.

In 2012 I was privileged to be a member of the Board of Directors for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and I had the great fortune of being able to attend many events. The highlight for me, as a former school athlete, was watching David Rudisha break the 30-year-old 800m record while Seb Coe, the previous record holder, sat right behind me. It was a magical experience to watch live and one I will never forget!

It takes a combination of raw talent, strength, speed, discipline and exceptional drive for athletes like Seb and David to reach that level – and an entire “village” of professionals who coach, prep, fine tune and support every aspect of the elite athlete’s health and performance. These are the people you likely won’t notice from the stands.

This is how I think about the thousands of professionals in our industry who work behind the scenes to bring live sport and entertainment, including the Games, to life for all of us.

Behind the scenes, crew members from every part of the world will be working inside and outside of event venues to deliver the action you watch on your television or device. As head of NEP, I am proud to call many of these professionals my colleagues and friends.

They are the experts who operate the cameras that capture every angle, design the lighting that brings stunning images to life, mix audio from dozens of sources to tell stories through sound, design and install the magnificent video screens you see around each venue, and replay the moments you want to see over and over again.

They are the IT, software and broadcast engineers making sure connections work smoothly and data is protected, and the warehouse, operations and logistics teams who make sure that every person and piece of equipment arrives on time, safely, where it needs to be.

All of this happens behind the scenes to support the producers, directors, broadcasters, streamers and rights holders we work for, ultimately bringing the action as it is happening to fans wherever they may be.

Like in sport, the technology and equipment we use improves with each version, enabling us to try new, faster, better ways of working with impressive results. The game of golf has been an Olympic sport since 2016. The titanium-based drivers of today are far removed from the wooden-headed clubs of 40 years ago.

When I think about NEP’s start in outside broadcasting and the evolution of our industry, the scale of change has been similarly dramatic: our mobile production units, which are TV studios on wheels, used to be onsite at every venue, connected by cables, and equipped for standard definition television. Now, we can have facilities at the venue or hundreds of miles away, connected by high-speed networks, to deliver an incredible ultra high definition viewing experience.

But no matter how good the equipment or technology is, it is the athlete – or the expert – who needs to be able to harness that energy and power, and to perform in those pivotal moments. This only becomes possible when you have people who are as passionate about what they do as they are skilled in doing it, as resourceful and quick on their feet as they are calm under pressure, and as technical and disciplined in their approach as they are creative. Because, after all, it’s live on air, and, just like the world's best athletes, the most important moment is now.

I couldn't be prouder of the role our teams at NEP – and our entire industry – play every day helping to bring the magic of live sport to millions of fans. As we begin what is sure to be another unforgettable Olympic Summer Games, here’s to all the athletes who will inspire us and to the many, many people behind the scenes who will make these moments possible for you and me.