Tomorrow is the big day! I have been counting down the years, months, days, and now finally hours, until the London 2012 opening ceremonies. There is something about competition on the world stage that brings everyone together, and ignites the whole world around a common cause.
Here, on the brink of another Olympic games, it’s estimated that 1 billion fans all over the world will be watching the Olympics in some form or another. And unlike past Olympic games, the 2012 London Olympics will usher in a new mobile era. For the first time, people will use IP communication applications to share Olympics information. Worldwide, mobile traffic is expected to increase 211% as a result of the games. There is no doubt that the mobile revolution will innovate how the Olympics is viewed and shared, especially considering how far information sharing around this event has come since the first Olympics.
Dating as far back as 700 BC, carrier pigeons carried news around Olympic proceedings. The 1896 games introduced the wireless telegraph, followed by radio broadcasts in 1924. In 1936, the Olympics were finally live in telecast, viewable worldwide by 1960. Then 1996 brought the “internet Olympics,” which also introduced a limited mobile capacity. Finally, 2008 saw 6 million people in the US watching the games on their mobile phones. And now, with mobile technology bursting from its seams and trending with users at surreal rates, the 2012 London Olympics will be viewable and shared at another game-changing frequency.
And if you’re curious about what the 2016 Rio Olympics will hold for mobile, consider that by this time there will be over 10 billion mobile devices connected, there will be an estimated 1.4 mobile devices per capita, and tablets will make up 10% of global mobile data traffic.
Check out this infographic on “Mobility & the Olympic Games” for more details:
