BBC unveils live coverage plans for Paris 2024
The BBC’s Olympics presenter lineup
The BBC has shared its plans for live coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with BBC1 and BBC2 to broadcast over 250 hours of live coverage across the entire 16-day event, whilst Olympics Extra will be a second curated live stream on BBC iPlayer – plus for the first time a vertical video carousel on the broadcaster’s website.
Director of BBC Sport Alex Kay-Jelski said: “For the first time since London 2012 we have an Olympic Games taking place in a European time zone, which is really exciting for UK audiences. People can tune in to live coverage morning, noon, and night, following all the biggest sporting moments as they happen.
“We are broadcasting hundreds of hours of coverage on free-to-air platforms and our two carefully curated live feeds and covering all the big stories online, across social media and radio, meaning audiences can keep up to date with all the best of British sporting stories by simply sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the sport.”
The BBC said it had built on the success of Tokyo in 2021, where the BBC Sport website received 27 million visitors, with the website and app is going to be the destination for big medal-winning moments, news stories, reports, live text and video highlights this summer.
Live text runs from 6:30am-midnight across the entire event, so that audiences can keep up to date with every single GB medal and big international moments, plus an automated medals table that allows fans to keep an eye on every team’s success.
Highlights videos are easily accessible on the website and app through a newly introduced vertical video carousel for anyone keeping up with the action on their phone. The new storytelling tool will showcase the best video content from the Games but in an “easy-to-find way,” said the BBC adding that across BBC Sport’s social channels, fans can expect to see the best moments and be brought closer to the athletes, BBC Sport presenters and pundits with engaging, bite-sized content.
Leading BBC Sport’s TV coverage are presenters Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Hazel Irvine, Isa Guha, Jeanette Kwakye, JJ Chalmers and Mark Chapman. Joining the stellar guest line up for the first time are most decorated female Olympian Laura Kenny, TV personality Fred Sirieix, British long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, Olympic gold medalist Moe Sbihi, and Olympic bronze medalist Vicky Holland. Adrian Chiles, Eleanor Oldroyd, Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Naga Munchetty and Tony Livesey lead BBC Radio 5 Live’s extensive coverage.
The anticipated opening ceremony in which each nation arrives on Paris’ river, Seine, takes place from 6.30pm on Friday 26 July on BBC1 and iPlayer. Clare Balding will present in the studio, with Hazel Irvine and Andrew Cotter commentating.
Live coverage commences at 8am on Saturday 27 July on BBC1. From the BBC’s studio in central Paris, Jeanette Kwakye and JJ Chalmers will welcome audiences each morning to the day’s events. Hazel Irvine will then pick up proceedings at 1pm on BBC2, before returning to BBC1 at 2pm. Evenings will be looked after by Clare Balding and Gabby Logan, with Balding reporting live from the swimming events before Logan takes the reigns at the athletics.