The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics is making an effort to consolidate the media’s footprint during the games, announcing that the Main Press Centre and the International Broadcast Centre will be integrated into what will be known as the Main Media Centre for the games.
The International Olympic Committee and the Olympics Broadcasting Services proposed the integrations according to Gao Zhi, chief of the Press Centre Division of Beijing 2022’s Media Operations Department. The goal is to cut costs, save space and improve efficiency.
The Main Media Centre will be located in the China National Convention Centre and will host 3,000 registered journalists and 12,000 broadcasters during the games. The new integrated space will be 4,000 square feet smaller than originally planned.
Smaller equipment and 5G technology are expected to be able to help enable interviews to be conducted inside venues, says Xu Jicheng, head of Beijing 2022’s Media Operations Department, which means there will be less reliance on the Main Media Centre than there has been in years past.
Xu says that the IOC may use this practice for future Olympics if it proves successful.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will take place from 4th-20th February, 2022.
