What future for our Olympic Games?
“Success is not a goal but a means to an end”
Pierre de Coubertin
London 2012 Olympic Games
The British capital hosted the Olympic Games for the third time.
In 2012, Omega introduces a novelty, the “Quantum Timer” ( not “Quantum of Solace”). This new measuring tool was unveiled at the London Olympics, and is 5 times more accurate and 100 times more fiable than previous timing devices. The device is used for swimming and cycling.
It takes just a few chiffires to grasp the scale of these Games: 450 timekeepers, 800 volunteers trained by Omega, 180 kilometres of cables and 420 tonnes of equipment for 302 competitions, 32 Olympic records and 954 medals. Exceptional chiffres that show the incredible popularity of this edition as well as all that was needed to successfully stage this sporting event.
Rio 2016 Olympic Games
For the 2016 Rio Olympics, the brand is deploying yet another new technology: the Myria Scan-o-Vision. It combines the new Quantum Timer measuring device with the finish Scan-OVision camera afin to create one of the most accomplished Camera-Finishes.
The city of Rio offre athletes exceptional facilities, thus offering a true showcase for sport and the Olympic Games, with modern sports infrastructure and nearby athlete residences. Like China, Brazil wanted to show the world the future that the capital will offer, far removed from the sulphurous image of the Favelas.
Tokyo Olympics, 2020
It’s impossible to talk about this year without mentioning the extraordinary impact that COVID has had on a global scale! Between confinements and saturated medical services, never before has a pandemic had such an impact on the modern world. And it is at the heart of this particular context that these Games will praise sport and team spirit. Japan will be offering health and safety measures to ensure healthy participation for all, something never before seen at an Olympic Games.
To avoid any Olympic mess, the city decided to reuse a large part of its sports infrastructure, including some of the venues from the 1964 Games. A wise choice at a time when ecological awareness is crucial, especially in the Japanese archipelago, where island space is limited.
For the 2020 season in Tokyo, Omega is proposing the “Real-Time Tracking System”, a microchip weighing just 16 grams that can measure runners’ times with extreme precision.
Paris Olympics, 2024
This year, the French capital is hosting the Games, and Omega will be in charge of timekeeping. For this edition, the brand is offering various commemorative watches in the form of the Seamaster and Speedmaster models. Unfortunately, the French population is not unanimous about these Games, because of the costs incurred in the midst of the economic crisis. The numerous security measures are disrupting life in the capital, for residents, businesses and tourists alike. One of the highlights of this year’s games is the Seine, which has been made swimmable thanks to a laborious and costly process to clean up part of the fleuve running through the capital. These games are taking place under high tension because of the Russian-Ukrainian and Israeli-Palestinian conflits. The Russian teams were excluded from this edition of the Olympics, which is reminiscent of the Cold War period. Nevertheless, we can salute the large team of refugees made up of various nationalities and important personalities, including the team’s spokesperson, Masomah Ali Zada, a former Afghan cyclist who fled her country and who wants to send the world a message of openness and sportsmanship.
What does the future hold for the Olympic Games?
Despite a turbulent geo-political context, the Olympic Games have quickly established themselves as the sporting event par excellence! Inspired by the Greek Olympiads, Pierre de Coubertin succeeded in creating a time when nations could come together in a competition that placed the emphasis on the spirit of surpassing oneself, humility and competition. As well as the honour of hosting such an event in their own country, the nations also saw the opportunity to show the world a more modern image, or to avoid certain problematic points in their policies. And it’s hard not to mention Omega when we talk about the Olympic Games: a veritable laboratory for proposing innovations to the world of sport and an advertising showcase for the brand, they are now an inseparable part of this adventure! Omega will be showcasing a number of innovations that will push back the frontiers of precision and enable better analysis of athletes’ results. The Biel-based company has successfully established itself in the specific market of sports chronometry. And all these innovations may lead to the development of technologies for their watches, or to the sale of several limited edition timepieces for the Olympic Games to collectors of the brand. But the real interest lies in communication, Alfred Pfister who was Longines’ technical director had this to say in 1915 about the Olympic Games “If this chronometry service is not profitable, it is still of considerable importance in establishing the reputation of our brand”. To support its reputation, Omega proves its technique through its tools while at the same time enjoying considerable visibility through media coverage and the possibility of showing all spectators their logo. This visibility increases the brand’s popularity and therefore sales. After the Beijing Olympics, Omega’s sales increased in China. The brand relies on a marketing podium to establish its worldwide reputation: the Olympic Games, the Apollo 11 mission and James Bond. As the years go by, Omega wants to move away from traditional chronometry and replace it with sensors and other tools for measuring time.
and replace it with sensors and other measurement tools that allow more precise analysis of the time.
