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FOREWORD BY THOMAS BACHPRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEESome time has passed since the closing of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, giving us the opportunity to look back at this successful Olympic year. It was a record-breaking Olympic Games in so many respects. Half the world’s population tuned into Games coverage. There was more broadcast coverage across all media than ever before: more than 350,000 total hours of coverage available from the Olympic Games Rio 2016, up 75 per cent from London 2012, and five billion impressions across all our social media platforms. They will be remembered as “the marvellous Games” in “the Marvellous City”, with the outstanding achievements and records by the athletes capturing the world’s imagination. This edition of Olympic Review takes us back to these unforgettable moments in Rio de Janeiro with a behind-the-lens, in-depth look at what it takes to broadcast the magic of the Olympic Games to a global audience. While the Olympic Games Rio 2016 have come to a close, the magic of the Games continues with the launch of the Olympic Channel, the digital platform of the Olympic Movement. The goal of the Olympic Channel is to engage with young people and connect them with sport and its values 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Olympic Review gives you an overview of what sports fans everywhere can expect from our exciting new digital platform. The Olympic Games Rio 2016 provided inspiration to people around the world and the viewership figures and positive feedback from so many stakeholders, partners and opinion leaders underscore the continuing appeal of the Olympic Games and our Olympic values. In our fragile world, where mistrust and uncertainty seem to be the order of the day, the uniqueness of the Olympic Games to unite and inspire all of humanity should give us all reason for optimism for the future. Riding on the success of the Olympic Games Rio 2016 gives the world of sport a solid foundation to face the challenges ahead from a position of strength. As this Olympic year comes to a close, let us remember that our success of today gives us the opportunity to drive the change for tomorrow. The Olympic Movement is fortunate to be in a strong position, but we need to continue to lead the change. The Olympic Games Rio 2016 have brought the world closer together. We saw the power of sport to unite people, like no other human activity can. In our fast-changing and volatile times, this unifying power of sport is more important than ever before. Only by working together in unity can we make progress to strengthen the role of sport in society – and make the world a better place through sport. ■Above right More than 350,000 hours of broadcast coverage were made available at the Olympic Games Rio 2016OLYMPIC REVIEW 7PRESIDENT BACH FOREWORD