The Olympic Movement has been told it must embrace the digital revolution or risk losing touch with the younger generation.

Martin Sorrell the Chairman of advertising and communications giant WWP warned young people would switch off the Olympics if the sports were not promoted the right way.

“If the Olympic sports themselves and the way they are promoted online and on mobile phones do not appeal to the younger audience they will lose that audience, the broadcasters will reduce their fees and the Movement will be at risk”.

He was speaking at the Olympic Congress in Copenhagen where 1200 delegates have gathered to explore ways of improving the Olympic movement.

Sorrell told the delegates the digital technologies offered the IOC huge opportunities to tap new markets and audiences.

“The risk however is that we do not harness these new channels and do not adapt to the new online world of communications” he said.

For some time now the IOC President Jacques Rogge has stressed the need for the organisation to remain in touch with the youth of the world. Rogge has described world youth as “greatest social force for good”.

Sorrell told the delegates the Olympic movement’s most important legacy was to deliver the next generation of sports fans and athletes.

“To do this, we must ensure the iPod, iPhone generation is tuning in, not tuning out” he said.

He did point out however that the Beijing Olympics were the most watched TV event in history with a global audience of 592 million people.

Beijing highlighted the rapid increase in the use of the internet and mobile phones and the fact young people are using more than one platform simultaneously.

On average internet and TV viewers consumed 6 hours of Olympics compared to just 3 hours by TV viewers alone.

“But figures show the internet is not cannibalising television, the television audience is still growing” said AOC President John Coates.

Research from the Beijing Games showed the Olympic brand is skewed towards the older age groups and women.

Several delegates raised concerns about piracy of sporting images. They heard that the IOC needs to avoid and overcome the problem of piracy, a problem that has plagued record companies.

But at the same time the IOC “can’t hide from the digital revolution, it has to embrace it”.

Mike Tancred - AOC
Copenhagen