Paris 2024 catapults Chinese tech to global fame

Paris 2024 will be remembered as much for sportspersons' medal-winning performances, memorable ceremonies, amazing venues and breathtaking logistics as for Chinese technology companies' contributions that, experts said, enhanced the quadrennial event like never before, impressing all stakeholders — participants, organizers, coaches, officials, spectators, TV and online audiences, media, advertisers and sponsors.

Chinese firms applied cloud computing and artificial intelligence innovatively in fields ranging from immersive live broadcast experiences to athletes' training, which improved the latter's performances, and can potentially transform future sporting events.

Experts further said the robust participation of Chinese companies in the prestigious sporting event demonstrates their growing technological prowess and independent innovation capabilities. This will help improve their international recognition and influence while boosting their global competitiveness.

More than two-thirds of live broadcast signals have been disseminated by Chinese tech heavyweight Alibaba Group's cloud broadcasting services during the Paris Games — a milestone in Olympic broadcast history.

The cloud computing platform has succeeded satellite broadcasting, which was launched during the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo for the first time, and has become the main method of remote distribution to broadcasters.

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba, which is a worldwide partner of the Paris Olympics, and Olympic Broadcasting Services have jointly launched OBS Cloud 3.0 to help media outlets get images and videos of the Games. OBS, a subsidiary of the International Olympic Committee or IOC, oversees the distribution of event coverage.

A record-breaking 11,000 hours of Olympics footage has been distributed to more than 200 countries and regions with the help of Alibaba Cloud's global cloud infrastructure, reaching billions of viewers worldwide.

The cloud-based technology is a game-changer for global media. Prior to this technological breakthrough, broadcasters had to rely on dedicated and more expensive international telecommunication optical circuits and spend a considerable amount of time to set up the equipment, in order to send live footage halfway across the globe back to their home countries.