The Winter Olympics of 2010 had been the primary “social media video games.” It was the primary time we noticed athletes with their very own on-line platforms enter the world. Since 2010, the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) has positioned strict pointers on the social media utilization of athletes, coaches, technical employees, and different Olympic committee representatives. As not too long ago because the 2020 Summer season Olympics in Tokyo, athletes had been barred from sharing content material on coaching, competitors, or ceremonial grounds or posting about private sponsors throughout the video games.
Whereas some restrictions stay for the privateness of contributors, the sport is altering. In December 2023, the IOC launched its new social media laws. Now, athletes can:
- Take photographs and video and audio recordings each inside and outdoors of official Olympic coaching, ceremony, and social areas.
- Share footage on their private social media platforms as much as an hour earlier than their very own competitions and once more after the competitors has ended.
- Publish one “thanks” message for every of their very own non-Olympic companions throughout the video games, so long as it doesn’t embody a private endorsement.
These adjustments are an indication of the rising affect of social media, particularly for public occasions. It’s now the primary method athletes work together and keep a real reference to their fan base. The significance of followers for Olympic athletes goes far past that of different public figures as a result of these athletes aren’t paid by the video games to compete. So, for Olympians just like the US girls’s water polo workforce, who had been quietly working a number of jobs on high of follow to make it to Paris earlier than Taste Flav sponsored the workforce, social media visibility and the partnerships that may include it are important for fulfillment.
This shift additionally represents a recognition of the significance of every athlete’s voice within the followers’ expertise. We reside in a world the place connectivity is central, and that’s not altering any time quickly. Athletes depend on social media to construct their private model and create partnerships with the businesses they align with. When the viewers will get an inside perspective from athletes like Ilona Maher (rugby), Tom Daley (swimming), and Simone Biles (gymnastics), they can have an unprecedented connection to the ideas and feelings of their favourite Olympians. And, engagement charges are via the roof for these athletes. Seeing athletes mingle in Champion Park, reviewing workforce attire, and even behind-the-scenes bonding movies brings us nearer to the champions we love with each view.
This new wave of help is optimistic not just for particular person athletes but additionally for the video games as an entire. This “inside look” has ushered in an entire new period of storytelling, branding, and help for the Olympics, and we’re seeing the proof in real-time. This yr’s opening ceremony was essentially the most considered ceremony since 2014, with 29 million eyes on the occasion.
The change in social media laws this yr on the Olympics is a mirrored image of the significance of social media in our world. The Olympics aren’t solely a spot for the very best of the very best to carry out but additionally a time for the world to return collectively and have fun the astounding feats going down in real-time.
By: Mel Johnson
