18 April 2024 – As the countdown to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 continues, the Worldwide Olympic Partners are preparing to play a fundamental role in making the Games a success. In our “Road to Paris” series, these Partners talk about some of the essential support they will be providing and reveal their excitement at helping to shape an unforgettable Olympic experience for fans and athletes alike. Here, we speak with Angels Martin, the General Manager for Olympic Games in the Major Events Unit at Atos.
From a technology perspective, what is unique about the Olympic Games?
This is a very special event because you know years in advance what the date and time of the Opening Ceremony is, and you can be sure there is no way to change that, no way to postpone that, so you have to be ready. In order to be ready, we test, we prepare in advance, and we test again and again and again to make sure that everything will be ready on the date of the Opening Ceremony.
What is your most memorable moment from being involved with the Olympic Games?
There are plenty of them, because we've been the Worldwide IT Partner for the IOC since the Games in Salt Lake City in 2002, so there are lots of special moments. But if I have to highlight something, what we feel most proud of is having been able to support the IOC during the digital transformation of the Olympic Games and to provide technology so that they are the most connected event ever.
What is Atos most looking forward to about the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris?
Paris 2024 is a very special Games for us because our headquarters are based in Paris, so even though we are a worldwide group, we have very strong French origins, and these Games are very close to our heart. Also, the fact that the Organising Committee wants to open the sports to the wider public with its “Games Wide Open” vision. We are very happy to contribute to this because this is giving people the opportunity to participate and to be even closer to the Games.
What are some of the key milestones for Atos on the Road to Paris?
Very recently, we opened the Technology Operations Centre, which is where we monitor all the IT in the various venues, and we manage any incident that could happen across the 63 venues where competitions will be held. This is one important milestone. Another important milestone is the test events. We have already had the first batch of test events that help us to prepare for the Games, where we can test our systems, test the processes, and also test the level of readiness of the people who will be working at the Games.
