IMG partnered with the IOC for the int'l inflight and inship rights for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The deal will see IMG distribute live coverage of the Games to the airline and cruise line industries, excluding all routes within the U.S. In addition, the company will produce other non-live inflight programming, including daily and weekly highlights programs and a review of the Games which will be available within two days of the event’s conclusion.
The deal will also see more than 200 hours of live action shown across the 17 days of competition on Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra, the IMG-owned and operated channels produced exclusively for inflight, including the opening and closing ceremonies (IMG).
MASCOTS UNVEILED: A white tiger named "Soohorang" and an Asian black bear called "Bandabi" were unveiled on Monday as the two mascots for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in PyeongChang. Soohorang's name "is derived from the Korean words for 'protection' (Sooho) and 'tiger' (ho-rang-i)." The white tiger "is considered a sacred guardian animal in South Korea." Organizers said that Paralympic Games mascot "Bandabi" represents courage and strong willpower (REUTERS, 7/18).
GROUP TRAVEL: China "will send 416 athletes to Rio de Janeiro next month, its largest overseas delegation in Olympic history, continuing its pursuit of medals that saw it take second spot in the table" behind the U.S. four years ago. The Chinese government said that the country "will send 256 women and 160 men to compete in 26 sports." It "fielded 396 athletes in the London 2012 games" (REUTERS, 7/18).
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| Sara Al-Attar |
FEMALE REPRESENTATION: The
Saudi Olympic Committee "approved
four female athletes to compete as part of the conservative Gulf kingdom’s team at the
Rio games starting in August."
Sara Al-Attar,
Lubna Al-Omair,
Cariman Abu Al-Jadail and
Wujud Fahmi "will become only the second group of women Olympians to represent Saudi Arabia, where women are barred from driving and are subject to a restrictive male guardianship system." A spokesperson said that the four women "will be given wildcard entries so they can compete without meeting formal qualification standards" (
REUTERS, 7/18).
OLYMPIC BRIEFS ...
Four suspects "with known links to terrorism attempted to travel to Brazil for the Rio 2016 Olympics." Brazilian security services said that the four, whose identities have not been revealed, "applied for accreditation for the Games and were among the 11,000 to be denied on security grounds." They "featured on a list of 40 who are subject to international alerts and are being monitored by intelligence agencies" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/18).
South Korea's state-run telecom research institute said on Monday that "it will provide an automated translation application for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games." Co-developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and local software firm Hancom Interfree Inc., "Genie Talk" translates Korean into English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Arabic (YONHAP, 7/18).
