German broadcasters unite for Special Olympics World Games in Berlin

A test event last year for the Special Olympics in Berlin

The Special Olympics World Games started in Berlin on 17 June, with 7,000 athletes from around the world gathering in the city to take part in a range of sporting events.

The Special Olympics is the world’s biggest sports movement for people with intellectual disabilities, with the World Games – which takes place every two years – among the largest multisport events in the world.

The opening ceremony will take place tomorrow in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin in front of an anticipated crowd of around 50,000. It will be the first time Germany has hosted the event, and the country’s broadcasters have joined forces in an unprecedented show of unity, says Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland senior vice president of sports production.

“The more we all broadcast, the more people will talk about the Games, which is better for everyone,” says Reitano.

“That means that if we at Sky have a nice story, we will share it with the other broadcasters and media partners, and vice versa. It is everyone’s intention to spread the word about the Games and the Special Olympics.

Judo at the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019

“Usually, as broadcasters, we all have the mindset of being first, getting the best positions, securing access to athletes first, so this is a little unusual, but it is absolutely the right thing to do.”

Along with Sky Germany, viewers in Germany will be able to view a range of live content, highlights, daily summaries and social media content on Amazon, ARD, Bild, DAZN, Meta, ProSiebenSat1, RTL, Sport1, Telekom, ZDF and Sportdeutschland.tv.

Special Olympics: facts & figures

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports movement for people with intellectual disabilities, with more than 5m athletes in 174 countries, and is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

The first Special Olympics World Games took place in 1968 at Chicago’s Soldier Field, when 1,000 athletes from US and Canada gathered with the aim of highlighting ability rather than disability.

Previously, Summer Special Olympics World Games have taken place in Abu Dhabi (2019), Los Angeles (2015), Athens (2011), Shanghai (2007) and Ireland (2003).

At the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, athletes will compete in a total of 26 sports at eight venues around the city, including athletics, basketball, hockey, judo, sailing, swimming and volleyball.

Outside Germany, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members will have access to clips, daily summaries and news reports. Global rights holder ESPN will live stream the action to viewers in the US, and is also responsible for distribution of the world feed.

Sky Germany is also supporting the Local Organising Committee (LOC), which is acting as host broadcaster of the Games. Over the past year-and-a-half Sky has provided advice on host broadcasting, venue management and workflow processes, and it will provide production support at seven of the venues in Berlin. Meanwhile, NEP has been appointed technical facilities provider with Germany’s MTI Teleport handling signal distribution.

In total, there will be around 400 hours of live content produced for the world feed, with Sky in particular set to air three hours of live content per day, along with highlights.

Coverage of the Games will be “top tier”, says Reitano.

“It is a really ‘traditional’ and well-known approach because at the end of the day, we’re talking about the third biggest multi-sport event in the world, so the approach is really straightforward; we are taking the most reliable and best in class technology and people.”

In addition, there will be a 5G proof-of-concept (POC) led by Sky to demonstrate lean, software-driven live production setup that will provide eight-camera coverage (four ‘traditional’ broadcast cameras supplemented by four mobile devices) of the table tennis. Vendors involved in the POC include MTI, LiveU, Singular and Sienna.

Looking ahead, the longer-term aim says Reitano, is to ensure that coverage of the Games is not a one-off and that the drive for greater inclusion becomes “holistic and part of society”.

Says Reitano: “That’s why it’s so important to create this visibility about what the athletes have overcome to be part of this movement. It is about more than sport; athletes should experience more self-determination and more social participation. It is about society and the changes that we all need to be a part of to be part of. I think everyone really hopes that this is a starting point.”

The Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 takes place 17 to 25 June. SVG Europe will be reporting live from Berlin during the Games.