Next stop, Beijing
The Beijing Olympics have the potential to be the biggest ever for the BBC. We will treat them as a BBC-wide event, making use of all platforms and networks to attract new audiences and maximise the BBC's investment in the Games. This is also the perfect time to start exploiting new technologies and innovative on-demand content, which will be at the forefront of our offerings for 2012.
With the seven-hour time difference between Beijing and London, it is crucial that we use platforms such as digital, broadband and mobiles to the full. Much of the action will take place in the daytime and our audiences will want the Olympics and Paralympics delivered wherever and whenever they want.
To this end, we plan to more than double our television output, with 24/7 coverage for the whole of the Games. All of this will be streamed on broadband too. The BBC Sport website will provide massive additional support with a comprehensive results service, stories and features on all the sports, as well as contextual material about China. We will also focus on attracting younger viewers.
However, these Olympics are not only about sport. We are also conscious that they are arguably one of the biggest stories of our time. We have a big responsibility to reflect the politics of China in an Asian and worldwide context, as well as changing cultures, huge economic development, human rights, the environment and much more besides. UK and global audiences will look to the way the BBC reflects all these aspects of the story.
Radio is an important part of our offering with both Radio Five Live and Five Live Sports Extra providing round-the-clock sport and news coverage from Beijing. We will also have a dedicated team providing extra material for our local and regional services around the UK, and BBC London, along with our network news teams, will be paying particular attention to the lessons to be learnt in Beijing for London 2012.
We recognise the importance of the Paralympics too. Again, our ambition is to increase our overall commitment compared to Athens and we will once again adopt an approach that involves the whole of the BBC, not just BBC Sport.
In the build-up to the 2008 Games, we will be marking the arrival of the Beijing Olympic Torch in London on Sunday 6 April next year, and we are also making plans to celebrate the post-Games handover moments on Sunday 24 August and Wednesday 17 September. These events have the potential to launch the four-year Olympiad in style and the BBC is committed to being a major part of that.
Dave Gordon, Head of Major Events for BBC Sport, says: "The next five years will present BBC Sport with its biggest ever challenge and we are 100% committed to engaging the whole of the UK in this unique period of our sporting history and reaching as wide an audience as possible."
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Did you know...?
The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony starts at 8pm local time (1pm BST) on Friday 8 August 2008 - that's 8pm on 8.8.08.
In China the number 8 is associated with prosperity.
