WIREDGOV

The 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games were a success not only for participants and medal-winners, but also for a global audience of viewers and listeners who were able to tune in to the action.

And the games were also a technical success thanks to the contributions of Ofcom’s spectrum experts, who helped to make sure the event went off without a hitch.

Securing wins behind the scenes

Colleagues from our Spectrum Assurance and Spectrum Engineering teams worked with counterparts from French spectrum regulator, ‘Agence Nationale Des Frequencies’ (ANFR), to help plan and monitor spectrum activity before and during the games.

At a large-scale event like the Olympics and Paralympics, lots of wireless equipment will be used. From on-site communications equipment such as walkie-talkies and in-ear monitors, to broadcaster equipment such as wireless microphones and cameras.

Each piece of this wireless equipment uses its own frequency on the radio spectrum, so they need to be checked and licensed to make sure that spectrum is used safely and without interference to other technology.

Ofcom’s experience in planning and overseeing major UK events such as Glastonbury and Euro 2020 meant our experts were well-placed to help our French counterparts set up for the games.

We were there as early as March, sharing our expertise and testing before the event began. And we maintained a presence for the during of both the Olympics and Paralympics, supporting the ANFR’s work.

A visit from our Chief Executive

During the Paralympics, our CEO Melanie Dawes popped across the Channel to find out first-hand how our colleagues had been working at venues across Paris to keep the broadcasts running smoothly.

She visited the ‘Invalides’ Paralympics venue in Paris, where she was greeted by the President and the Director General of the ANFR. She was accompanied by Ofcom colleagues Bryan Mason, Lead Senior Spectrum Assurance Engineer, and Camilla Bustani, Director, International.

During her visit, Melanie was shown behind the scenes where engineers were monitoring for any spectrum interference, and also got to see some of the para-archery taking place live, including a Paralympics GB team that went on to win gold.

ANFR colleagues were eager to express their gratitude to Ofcom for the support and expertise that our engineers provided at Paris 2024, and also for previous initiatives such as when ANFR staff and members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) visited Ofcom at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to observe how we delivered assurance operations there.

Melanie’s visit also including meetings with the Chair and Board Members of Arcep, the French telecoms regulator, discussing topics including telecoms regulation, GenAI, tackling scams, and sustainability. From there, she headed across Paris to meet the President and a Board Member of Arcom, the French media regulator, where topics of discussion included media plurality, freedom of expression and international collaboration in online safety.