Olympics: IOC to bring 'vibes of the world' to Tokyo venues

With the Japanese government banning spectators from the Tokyo Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has put in place efforts to bring ‘vibes of the world to the venues so that the participants feel the usual atmosphere of competition. The IOC on Saturday shared with its executive board its efforts to make the 'silent' games more vibrant.

The efforts put in to mitigate the impact of the absence of spectators include the use of digital, real-time live cheer maps, fan videos that will be broadcast in venues, and the possibility for athletes to speak to close family and friends directly after they have competed in their event, the IOC's executive board was informed on Saturday.

The IOC shared details of its plans to connect billions of fans to this year's Games through unprecedented broadcast coverage and digital innovations.

The IOC also has plans for setting up a state-of-the-art virtual audio experience that would be used in all venues. This will see sounds from individual sports from past Games broadcast through audio systems to create the effect of spectators despite their absence, providing strong, emotional connections with athletes, the IOC informed.

"We will make every effort to bring the vibe of the world into the venues. Billions of people around the world will follow the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 via rights-holding broadcasters and other digital and media platforms. These will be the most followed Games in Olympic history," said IOC president Thomas Bach. -IANS