Explained: the European Games' broadcast & social media plans

The third edition of the European Games takes place next month, 21 June-2 July, with Poland hosting the multi-sport event one year ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Chair of the European Games Coordination Commission, Hasan Arat, spoke to Broadcast Sport ahead of the event to explain its hopes for broadcast and social media. The European Games will be hoping for a bumper year, with the competitions counting as qualifying events for the Olympics, and hopes it can begin a cycle of interest in Olympic sports ahead of the France event - as well as work towards its grand aim of becoming the second largest multi sport event in the world, behind the Olympics.

The European Games will be free-to-air across Europe following a broadcast deal with the EBU, and Arat explained the value of being as available as possible: “Our hope is that by broadcasting free-to-air across Europe, we reach all our existing audiences and help develop new ones.

“Our sports programme includes new and innovative sports which often do not get mainstream coverage but with significant view interest. Our deal with the EBU means that they will this summer and that they will have the chance to attract the stars of tomorrow.”

Mediapro is host broadcaster for the Games, and Arat has high hopes for the production company: “We want fans across the world to be able to enjoy a world-class, state-of-the-art television production and the selection of Mediapro as the host broadcaster of this event showcases our intent. If you look at their work on previous multi-sport events such as the Asian Games and Pan-American Games, they clearly deliver a quality product.

“We know how innovative sports coverage across the globe has been over the past decade or more and the EOC want to make sure that we see the latest advancements at this summer’s European Games.

“In our conversations with the Local Organising Committee and Mediapro, we spoke about our desire to have the very latest technology on hand. Whether that is a spider cam above the Silesian Stadium in the athletics, a drone camera showing stunning footage of the mountain bikers or the very best underwater cameras getting the reactions of divers once they reach the water, we are open to it all.”

In addition, to being free-to-air with EBU members, the European Games is hoping for traction on social media - particularly through athletes, who have been given greater access to clips and content to share. Arat said: “The way we consume sport has changed. When we are watching television, we’re scrolling through social media, watching other clips and messaging friends on our phones. This is especially true with the younger generations. This could be viewed as a negative by some people, but I believe it provides us with opportunities.

“Athletes with large social media followings have the opportunity to share their performance to their followers and keep their fans informed. If they do produce a spectacular moment, that clip can quickly go viral. But often that hasn’t been possible because of rights issues.

“So it has been great to be able to overcome those issues, so that athletes will have the opportunity to effectively promote the broadcasts by posting materials on their social channels and effectively promote the broadcasts. There is so much choice of wonderful content available to people these days, we should do everything we can to promote ours. Social media sharing of highlight clips can be a great way to achieve this.”