European Athletics official broadcast partner Eurovision Sport is placing particular emphasis on inclusivity and gender balance in its forthcoming live output.
This year will see Eurovision Sport deliver live streaming from the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia and the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Turkiye.
And, reflecting European Athletics Strategic Roadmap 2024-2027, which includes commitments to “enhance live, broadcast and digital viewing experience” and “continue to champion gender equality”, Eurovision Sport shares the same objectives.
Online safety
In an article published on LinkedIn, Elsa Arapi, Eurovision Sport Head of Women’s Sport said that emerging digital tools offered opportunities around inclusivity, but also how to balance that with athlete safety.
"We’ve seen that technology can offer new and exciting ways to make those audience connections. Interactive tools during live competition that allow fans to vote in polls, ask questions, or predict outcomes can enhance the viewer experience and immerse fans in the action in ways that were not possible before,” she said.
“Another technological development that I am excited to see is centred around athlete safety. Sportswomen are often targeted with hateful comments online, and I’d like to see AI tools used more prevalently to track abusive social media posts. With the proper content management strategies, we can make platforms safer for women athletes and sports professionals."
Truly inclusive
True inclusivity means a gender balanced experience for digital audiences.
"Sports coverage will only be truly inclusive and diverse when we have normalized the presence of women across all roles in broadcasting, both on and off-air. We want to see mixed commentator and pundit teams, more women reporting on men’s sports events, and vice versa, as well as more space for women to have their voices heard,” added Arapi.
"We need to meet women’s sports fans wherever they are, which is why I'm so excited about our recently launched streaming platform, Eurovision Sport, where we're committed to offering gender-balanced live sport for free across a host of Olympic Sports.
"Our goal from the beginning has been to create as many connection points between fans and women’s sport as possible. We want audiences to truly understand athletes and teams, to be familiar with their strategies, and to follow their progress.”
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics