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On 21 August, as the curtain came down on the Olympic Games Rio 2016 with a colourful Closing Ceremony, the Olympic Movement was not only looking back, but forward. Building on the excitement of a Games that younger audiences connected with like never before through smartphones, tablets and social media, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) marked the occasion with the launch of the Olympic Channel – a ground-breaking, multi-platform digital experience that aims to harness this passion for the Games all year round. Traditionally, after the homecomings, refl ections and extinguishing of the Olympic fl ame, the period after a Games sees many athletes fade from public consciousness, before the start of the build-up to the next instalment of the world’s greatest sporting event. Now, with the launch of the Olympic Channel, which was one of the key recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020, fans have an always-on, digital multimedia platform through which they can cherish Olympic memories, follow their favourite athletes, and connect with the Olympic Movement whenever they like – and wherever they are.“In today’s world, it’s not good enough to starve people of the Olympic Games for two years so that they watch it for two weeks,” explains Yiannis Exarchos, who is Executive Director of Olympic Channel Services (OCS) as well as CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services. “People simply don’t have this kind of patience any longer. The Olympic Channel is here to keep banging the drum around the world 24/7, on behalf of the Olympic sports, to maintain the worldwide interest in the Games.”From the beginning, the free platform was made available to a global audience on web, mobile, tablet and other connected devices – and things had to move quickly in order to hit the launch date. OCS’s fi rst full-time employee only started in July 2015, but the organisation now has over 100 personnel comprising more than 25 nationalities, while the growth in content – centred on athlete-based original programming, live sporting events, news and highlights, and Olympic archival footage – has been similarly quick. From a blank canvas at the beginning of 2016, the Channel had created more than 3,000 pieces of content by mid-October, with social media used both as a vehicle to drive fans to this content, and as a key strategy for the growth of the brand.Just two months on from the launch of its social media platforms, the Channel boasted a worldwide following exceeding two million people and, largely through these followers, recorded more than one billion impressions of Olympic Channel HEROES OF THE FUTURE The Olympic champions of tomorrow are already hard at work. Meet those young athletes from around the world at the top of their game.THE Z TEAMAn Olympic legend takes over as the coach of a struggling sports team and draws on all their know-how to turn them into winners. GOLD MEDAL ENTOURAGE Introducing the people who make up the back-up teams behind every athlete, helping them to prepare for the big occasions and achieve peak performance when it matters. BEFORE THEY WERE SUPERSTARS Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, Brazilian footballer Neymar and Colombian BMX rider Mariana Pajón are all household names, but what were they like before they hit the sporting big time?KIDS CALLYoungsters take to the mic to give their reactions to the performances of Olympic athletes. Suitably impressed by what they see, they ask themselves if they could emulate the stars. CAMPS TO CHAMPS Olympians travel to refugee camps to see how sport can positively affect the lives of the displaced. Above The Olympic Channel’s content covers a wide array of subjectsLeft The IIHF men’s ice hockey final Olympic qualifying event was broadcast live on the Olympic Channel‘THE CHANNEL IS HERE TO KEEP BANGING THE DRUM AROUND THE WORLD 24/7’YIANNIS EXARCHOS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OCSEDITOR’S PICKSSix of the best shows available via the Olympic Channel