Samsung Electronics, Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications and Computing Equipment category, is bringing technological innovations to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 through interactive experiences at the new Samsung Olympic Showcases. Samsung will encourage fans and athletes to “Do What You Can’t” through fun, immersive experiences across multiple Samsung Olympic Showcases.

Throughout the Olympic Winter Games, a total of nine Samsung Olympic Showcases – featuring a mix of cultural, technological and immersive fan experiences – will be in PyeongChang and Gangneung, including Olympic Parks and the Olympic Villages, the Main Press Centre and four at the Incheon International Airport. Samsung Olympic Showcases @ PyeongChang Olympic Plaza and @ Gangneung Olympic Park will provide visitors with engaging experiences incorporating Samsung’s legacy of breakthrough innovation and interactive activities powered by Samsung technology.

Athletes and fans will first experience the Samsung brand history and heritage in engineering, design and craftsmanship and then the partnership history with the Olympic Games. Through interactive experiences, visitors will be able to feel the exhilaration and escape into real-world thrills in winter sports through VR, including snowboarding, as well as participate in alpine and cross-country skiing contests that will challenge fans’ fitness capacity. For the first time, visitors will be able to experience the ‘Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ created by Samsung. Visitors will experience a full space mission including mission briefing, trying on the training suits and helmets and the truly immersive experience in the Moon rig where they will feel lunar gravity with every step.

“For two decades as a Worldwide Olympic Partner, Samsung has connected fans, visitors and athletes from around the world with our latest technological innovations, which have now evolved to also include immersive experiences,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics. “We’re delighted to share Samsung’s latest mobile technologies and products, so fans and athletes can enjoy new, unique experiences while at the Olympic Winter Games.”

“Over the course of our longstanding partnership, Samsung has brought new experiences and technology advancements to each Olympic Games,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Samsung helps to make each and every one an exciting and meaningful experience for all.”

Visitors will experience and engage with Samsung’s products and Galaxy brand through a variety of activities through a comfortable, interactive environment, including:

• Immersive VR Experiences: Unique VR experiences powered by the Galaxy Note8 will allow fans to escape into exhilarating moments on the fresh mountain slopes in snowboarding and skeleton as well as escape to space in Mission to Space VR: A Moon for All Mankind’ – available to consumers to experience for the first time. Other experiences include simulated skiing adventures.
• Playful Experiences: Promoting the playful side of technology, Portrait Pool allows visitors to turn their “selfies” into painted characters for social sharing, S Pen Gallery to create own portraits with Galaxy Note8 and S pen as a paint brush, Infinity Moment to create user generated content with the Galaxy Note8.
• Kids Lounge: A dedicated kids lounge in a hands-on zone, where kids can play, learn and explore Samsung products and expand their creativity through hands-on experience.
• Smart Home (IoT): Multi Device and futuristic demos powered by mobile technology that showcase the IoT, helping visitors to imagine the future lifestyle.
• Unbox Samsung: The journey of ‘Unbox Samsung’ where visitors can experience the Living History of Samsung since 1988 when the first mobile phone was launched.
• Purchase and Customer Service: Visitors will also be able receive customer service and make purchases of the mobile products and its accessories.
• Interact and Relax: Within lounges and in the Cultural Community where various lifestyle programs will take place as well as in the Café where food and beverages will be available for purchase using Buddy Points acquired during the interactive experiences.
• Special Events: A series of events will take place at the Samsung Olympic Showcase to enhance the Olympic Winter Games experience including athlete visits and celebrating holiday moments.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 25 January, 2018 – With about two weeks to go until the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, Samsung Electronics, Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment and Computing Equipment category, unveiled the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition. To further extend its Olympic legacy of supporting athletes and the Olympic family, Samsung will provide the exclusive devices, which are a special edition of the Galaxy Note8, as encouragement to do bigger things at the Olympic Winter Games, while also helping maintain real-time connections and capturing and sharing memories with those near and far.

In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the PyeongChang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG), Samsung will deliver over 4,000 devices to all Olympians as well as the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic family, including IOC and POCOG staff allowing them to lean on Samsung mobile technology to enhance their experiences and connect more conveniently. The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition will include the bold new features of the Galaxy Note8, such as the innovative bezel-less 6.3-inch Infinity Display that fits comfortably in one hand, enhanced S Pen for efficient productivity and Samsung’s best-in-class Dual Camera. Exclusively for the Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition will showcase a shiny white back glass to celebrate the winter theme and gold Olympic rings – inspired by the Olympic Torch – an expression of the Olympic Movement with the union of five continents and unity worldwide.

“Throughout our 20-year legacy as an Olympic partner, Samsung has showcased our support of the Olympic Movement by helping spread the Olympic Spirit and enhance connections through our latest technological innovations and immersive experiences,” said Younghee Lee, CMO and Executive Vice President, Samsung Electronics. “We’re proud to provide the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition to all athletes in an effort to help them to stay connected, capture and share one of the most memorable moments of their lives.”

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games Limited Edition will feature celebratory pre-loaded PyeongChang 2018 themed wallpapers, allowing recipients to stay connected in style through Samsung’s most advanced mobile technology. As an added element, useful apps will be pre-installed to help cultivate the utmost Olympic Games experience.

“Samsung’s commitment to the Olympic Movement has increasingly enabled meaningful connections through innovative mobile technologies over the past 20 years,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Samsung’s creation of an Olympic Games Limited Edition device reinforces Samsung and IOC’s shared desire to spread the Olympic spirit. It’s because of dedicated partners like Samsung that we’re in the position to provide unforgettable experiences at the Olympic Games time after time.”

Samsung to Provide Galaxy Note8 to Paralympians

Displaying commitment to the Paralympic Movement, Samsung will provide smartphones to all Paralympians at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Each Paralympian will receive the Galaxy Note8 along with cases that feature the Paralympic Games logo and be exposed to how breakthrough mobile technologies can help make the digital world more accessible for those with disabilities. Samsung has been a World Paralympic Partner since the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 and an advocate for the Paralympic Movement striving to inspire the spirit of progress and the human challenge ever since.

About Samsung’s Involvement in the Olympic Games

Samsung began its Olympic Games involvement as a local sponsor of Olympic Games Seoul 1988. Beginning with Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998, the company extended its commitment to the Olympic Movement as the Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment category, providing its proprietary wireless communications platform and mobile devices. These innovative mobile technologies provide the Olympic Community, athletes and fans around the world with interactive communications and information services, and Samsung Pay. Samsung hosts various Olympic campaigns to share the excitement of the Olympic Games with people around the world and enable everyone to participate in the Games through its innovative mobile technology. Samsung’s commitment as a Worldwide Olympic Partner continues through PyeongChang 2018, and Tokyo 2020 in the Wireless Communications Equipment and Computing Equipment category.