SVG Sit-Down: RWS Global's Kim Henshaw, Scott Horton Reflect on the In-Venue Experience of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris More than 700 staffers drive in-stadium productions of 54 sports in 37 venues By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 - 12:29 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Since the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, RWS Global - a production and entertainment company at the center of international sporting events, live performances, and more - has been responsible for the in-venue activations and overall fan experience in the host nation. With the eyes of the world set on the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, their onsite team of 450 French staffers as well as support from afar helped create a magical environment for spectators of all 54 sports within 37 venues across the City of Light and France this past summer.
This included generating over 7,000 hours of in-venue content created, curating and programming more than 2,000 music tracks, arranging more than 40 new and original compositions to compile the Symphony of Sport' project, hosting 878 victory ceremonies that distributed over 4,700 medals, delivering 12,415 headshots graphics of athletes, and leveraging the power of their PV4 integrated software system with 70 operators, sports producers, content programmers and global support staff.
SVG sat down with RWS Global's EVP, Sports Business Operations, Kim Henshaw, and RWS Global Sports' EVP Scott Horton to discuss the process of planning and executing the in-venue portion of Paris 2024, how the in-stadium entertainment of this competition compares to the other global sports tournaments that they're involved in, and how technology has evolved since their first Olympic Games.
More than 700 staffers drive in-stadium productions of 54 sports in 37 venues.
What were your responsibilities in Paris and how does the multi-sport nature of these Games make your job different?
Horton: We were responsible for a huge footprint and a massive team that we needed to build across the Olympics and Paralympics. We work very closely with the organizing committee to ensure that the number of venues had consistency with our delivery and would allow fans to know that they were at the Olympics no matter what stadium or arena they were in. This included our branding, messaging, music, flavor, and experience was of high quality and synced together but most importantly, we wanted the spectators to have fun. We needed our presentation to be neutral, but also have fans understand what's going on if it was their first time watching a particular sport.
Henshaw: There's a big differentiator between productions for a franchise and producing for an Olympic Games. When you go to a specific team's stadium, their fans understand the rules of the game, know how gameday works, and are ready to be entertained. For a major multi-sports competition like the Olympics, these games are in a one-off location with new and different variables. Fans want to be a part of this global celebration but may not know the intricacies of a sport like fencing. Our job is to find that balance between entertainment and fan engagement while also educating these new fans in a way that's easy to digest.
Can you take us back to the pre-planning phase and what it's like working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)?
Horton: We had a very short lead in, which made it difficult, but we luckily have the team and experience to get going right when we signed the contract. We embedded our producers and project managers at the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) and worked with their presentation department. We have what we call cluster managers, split them up amongst their dedicated sports, talk through the protocol of each event, and build our show around those parameters. In line with the Creative Strategy of the LOC, we intertwined these creative elements into each of the individual sports. . With a bunch of Functional areas within the organizing committee, we had to integrate [our staff] into venue management, broadcast, logistics, marketing, brand management, and other departments as well. For example, the area for 3 3 Basketball at La Concorde needed to transition into Breaking. We needed to prepare our technology and plan with both sports in advance to schedule rehearsal time and do the appropriate tech checks. It's a very big program with a lot of things to juggle.
How did the team adapt to last minute changes in Paris?
Henshaw: One of the things that RWS Global Sports is an expert at is mobilizing teams into foreign environments and creating an entire show on the run. We have our own content creating teams that are producing all of the graphics that go on the numerous LED displays in each stadium. With venues having their own challenges and specific deliverables, being flexible and adaptable is a specialty of ours. From the IOC and broadcast teams to every international federation wanting their athletes to be presented in the best way possible, there are so many stakeholders at an Olympic Games. You also have to add in difficult working situations that may come up like ordinary day-to-day challenges and getting production teams to and from different venues when transport isn't running properly. Those were operational challenges, but we were also tasked with executing a synchronized light show for the 100-meter final. This was decided less than a week away from the race, so we had to program the show on the fly, get thousands of light-up wristbands delivered to the stadium, and distribute them to the spectators as they entered into the stadium.
How were productions at venues with multiple events, like various games of Rugby Sevens or simultaneous Track & Field events at Stade de France, stitched together to create
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
SVG Sit-Down: RWS Global's Kim Henshaw, Scott Horton Reflect on the In-Venue Experience of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris More than 700 staffers drive in-stadium productions of 54 sports in 37 venues By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
