Alibaba is on the verge of launching a new project (currently unnamed) to develop ‘smarter and more connected Olympic village and stadia for athletes’. The Alibaba sponsor deal is to as well make ‘more money for the Olympic stakeholders and reduce the expenses of the arrangers, as said by executives of the company today, February 10.
The visions revealed by Alibaba go well with the motto of the 2018 Winter Olympics: “Passion. Connected.” The company is presently one of the top sponsors of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) till 2028.
According to Alibaba’s revealings, there haven’t been implementations yet, although IOC President Thomas Bach said that the plans ‘can become operational pretty soon.’ Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma echoed the same, hinting at expectations to be realized at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
Today’s press conference at Pyeongchang of South Korea, where this year’s Olympics are to be held, saw the unveiling of the ‘Sports Brain’ is a set of software products developed by Alibaba. These products aim at improving the back office, based on which the events are run.
Ma appearing onstage with Bach, expressed his glee in coming across the two Korean countries marching together in the opening ceremony yesterday, reflecting ‘peace and prosperity surpassing their infamous rivalries.
The media conference featured a magician and an interpretive dancer. Amongst the audience were the likes of Yao Ming, the famous retired Chinese basketball player.
Alibaba has about 300 employees on Pyeongchang ground to get insights on the event running process so that they can identify possibilities to save money for future host countries. The company is further using an international branding campaign for the Olympics that would spread across in the markets of the United States and Great Britain.