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Behind the scenes of the XX Winter Olympic Games
Fernando Pardo, Head of EBU Sports Operations Group

Turin is the Olympic city of the XX Winter Games

Turin, the capital of Piedmont, is a medium-size city in the Northen part of Italy, known worldwide because it is the headquarters of FIAT, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.

The city is surrounded by the majestic Alps and there are several very well-known winter resorts, among them Sestriere.

Major work 

Since Turin was chosen by the IOC as the host city of the XX Winter Olympic Games major work has been undertaken to accommodate the needs of athletes, visitors and the media, from the terminal building of the airport to, for example, the venues for speed and figure skating, curling and the media villages.

We had thought that the Athens operation was difficult but this one is not far behind. In terms of problems accommodation has been the biggest one because Turin is not a big city and already suffered from a housing scarcity. On top of this the Games are taking place in an Alpine area which makes the problem even worse.

Accreditation has also been a big issue due to the fact that many members are, in geographic terms, relatively near to the Piedmont region and have tried to bring as many staff as possible. Furthermore, the sublicensing system that applies to all EU countries has forced our members to request accreditation for their sublicenses which further compounds the problem.

Transportation also seems to be a big concern for broadcasters, and we have only just started to experience it. Do not forget that to get to certain Alpine venues people may need nearly three hours to get there and then another three hours to get back to Turin!

On the technological and booking sides of the operation, we also faced – and are still facing – problems that we are trying to solve on a daily basis. The 8,500m² of space in the IBC (International Broadcasting Centre) and the BMC ( Broadcast Mountain Centre) is the largest area that the Operations Group has ever had to allocate, construct and cable for a Winter Games.

Programme-wise we have for the first time produced the EBU summaries and also small highlight packages which will be aired immediately after the specific sporting event finishes. Thus, we will be able to supply members with very valuable, edited material for news purposes. These packages could also be distributed to certain phone companies as part of their telephony services to subscribers.

As with previous Games, we will be ready and we look forward to the challenges ahead. Be assured that we will do everything in our power to make the Games memorable and successful for our members.

Finally, I would like to thank the following for their ongoing support: EBU News, EBU Network and our part-time programme and finance staff.

Key figures 

• 60 EBU broadcasters will be present at the Games
• More than 8,500m² of offices and studios built in the IBC
• 5 multilateral programmes per day
• 800 hours of multilateral programmes during the Games
• 366 commentary positions
• 133 reporting positions
• 218 telephone lines on positions
• 336 ISDN lines in IBC
• 2,790 accreditations sent to TOROC on behalf of EBU members
• 1,900 rooms
• 133 cars      

pj / ep