With the kick-off of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games, Worldwide Olympics Partner Samsung underpinned by its official theme ‘Open Always Wins’, which embodies the tech giant’s belief in the power of an open mind to turn every new experience into a meaningful accomplishment, unlocking fresh perspectives and limitless possibilities, calls upon all South Africans to get behind Team SA as they put their best foot forward to achieve great results.

 “Team SA’s accomplishment of making it to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 reminds us that with dedication, hard work, courage and teamwork, incredible things are possible. As a brand, we wish all our athletes every success. Their triumphs will serve as a source of inspiration and pride for the nation,” said Oscar Makola, Samsung Africa’s Chief Marketing Officer.

Renowned sports and entertainment figures such as Kholosa Biyana, Lemii Loco, Jojo Robinsons, Semone Skosan, S.Crumptious (Sphokuhle N), Leandie du Randt, and Bontle Modiselle have already shown their support with heartfelt messages. The influencers bring on the heat with their wit and cheer as they inspire the team. Bontle’s fun video, which has earned thousands of likes to date, gives the athletes some tips on how to do the victory dance if/when they win. Lemii Loco’s banter encourages the athletes to channel their inner South African in whatever code they’ll be competing in, while Jojo Robinson will give you a chuckle as a Housewife Olympian doing her own rendition of the various games.

As Mzansi fans get behind Team SA with hopes of wining of big Samsung prizes, the Olympians will be competing for gold at the Olympics Games Paris 2024. The Galaxy of SA sporting stars is set to give their all and inspire the nation with their extraordinary performances. This includes Samsung Team Galaxy partners Tatjana Smith 100m/200m Breaststroke (2020 Olympic Champion), Gerda Steyn (Women’s Marathon – Olympic debut), Caitlin Rooskrantz (Olympic Gymnast), Prudence Sekgodiso (800m track runner – Olympic debut), Mpumelelo Mhlongo (T44 100m world record holder), Kat Swanepoel (S5 50m Backstroke champion).

“At Samsung, we know all too well the significant role that sport plays in the country’s journey. Sport is deeply ingrained in South African culture, and supporting our national teams not only unites us but also elevates their performance on the global stage. Through this campaign that seeks to back Team Mzansi, we leverage Samsung’s innovative technologies to encourage every South African to become the #SamsungVoicesUnited backing our athletes at Paris 2024,” said Makola.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, has announced its plans alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to revolutionise the Paris 2024 broadcast experience for viewers and fans. New, first-of-its-kind footage – which will be captured and shared with Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – will play an integral role in opening up the historic Opening Ceremony on the Seine River and the Olympic Games’ sailing competitions like never before.

As the Official Smartphone and Computing Equipment partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Samsung will harness its advanced mobile technology and 5G connectivity to provide a closer perspective of these iconic celebratory and competition moments. This new view, powered by Samsung Galaxy innovation, will not just help Paris 2024 deliver on its promise to be the most open Games ever, but also further Samsung’s legacy of innovation in support of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“In an increasingly connected society, Samsung Galaxy mobile technology has helped deepen and transform users’ relationships with the world, wherever they are. Having been a Worldwide Partner for nearly three decades, we know first-hand how important it is to create and enable the same meaningful connections at the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Stephanie Choi, EVP & Head of Marketing of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We’re honored to be working closely with the IOC and OBS to provide high quality footage that will be part of a series of firsts at Paris 2024 and bring fans at home and onsite even closer to the excitement.”

In about a month, the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place outside of a stadium for the first time ever. Paris 2024 will see 10,500 athletes float down the Seine River in designated boats for each national delegation, in what aims to be the most open and accessible opening ceremony in history. Departing from the Austerlitz bridge, the iconic parade will follow a six-kilometre route through the centre of Paris, passing some of the official Olympic Games venues before the ceremony’s grand finale at the Trocadéro.

Galaxy S24 Ultra Gives Viewers Front Row Seat to the Games

To bring fans at home closer to the action and provide an intimate glimpse of athlete’s reactions during this once-in-a-lifetime voyage, Samsung will install more than 200 Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphones at the bow and sides of each of the 85 athlete vessels at the opening ceremony. The high-quality HDR footage taken with the Galaxy S24 Ultra devices will be shared and streamed via a private 5G network powered by Orange, the official mobile network provider of Paris 2024 in France. Orange will install more than a dozen of 5G antennas along the Seine to create the first-ever 5G standalone network in France, as this pioneering collaboration is designed to ensure a seamless 5G connectivity and viewing experience for fans around the world.

Samsung will also deploy the same technology for the sailing competitions in Marseille by installing the Galaxy S24 Ultra on each competition boat, letting fans experience the thrill of the race alongside their favourite Olympians and allowing them to truly get in on the action.

This presented a whole new set of challenges and months of research, development and testing – in close collaboration with the OBS and Orange – to guarantee video quality and connectivity performance across various bodies of water and weather conditions, which can be really windy with huge waves or extremely hot and sunny. Samsung and its partners addressed these challenges by leveraging the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Optical image stabilisation (OIS) features, increasing transmission power, and installing relay towers on chase boat to ensure a seamless livestream experience for viewers.

“As host broadcaster of the Olympic Games, we’re incredibly excited about this partnership with Samsung which will allow a truly original perspective of Paris 2024, evolving the way in which fans will experience the Games,” said Yiannis Exarchos, Chief Executive Officer of OBS. “Samsung’s latest mobile innovation will allow millions of fans around the world to live and breathe the spirit, action and emotion of the Opening Ceremony and sailing competitions alongside their favourite athletes in real-time.”

Samsung’s Long-Running Contribution to the Games

This announcement marks the next stage of Samsung’s long-standing commitment, in close collaboration with the IOC, to drive digital transformation and deliver cutting-edge technology at the Games by opening up the latest mobile innovations to athletes, fans and communities alike. This originated with the first ‘Call Home’ programme which allowed nearly 2,500 athletes to speak to their families back home for free in 1998, when access to mobile phones was limited. It continued with the Wireless Olympic Works (WOW) app, the first official Olympic information service on mobile. The WOW app was introduced to Olympic organisers via Samsung-supplied Palm OS phones at Athens 2004 and then was made available to the public at Vancouver 2010, providing fans with the latest Games-time updates straight to their mobile phones.

In addition to driving mobile innovation, Samsung has also contributed to how athletes, and staff, connect and communicate during the Games-time. Since Nagano 1998, Samsung has provided athletes and staff with a total of more than 120,000 mobile products.

Details of how Samsung will further leverage its technological capabilities to bring fans closer to athletes, in another Olympic first will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, today launched a new documentary series designed to spotlight skateboarding, breaking, and surfing on the Road to Paris 2024. The series, produced in collaboration with the Street League Skateboarding (SLS), Pro Breaking Tour (PBT) and World Surf League (WSL), will feature three short docu-series: “Concrete Dreams”, “Breaking Boundaries”, and “The Next Wave.”

The first in the series, “Concrete Dreams”, which spotlights the skateboarding community’s journey to the Olympics, is now live on Samsung’s YouTube Channel and will be screened for fans at the SLS San Diego championship tour event on April 20. The breaking and surfing series will be released on April 25 and May 21 respectively, and premiere at PBT’s Atlanta event and WSL’s event in Tahiti.

Starring sport legends Shaun Tomson, Eric Koston and David “Kid David” Shreibman alongside Olympic athletes Johanne Defay (Surfing, France), Sky Brown (Skateboarding, Great Britain), Grace “Sunny” Choi (Breaking, USA) and many more, the project celebrates the communities that lie at the heart of each sport as they get set to open themselves to the world this summer.

This new project is a key part of Samsung’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 campaign, ‘Open always wins,’ which claims that with an open mind, anything is possible — a motto these communities live by every day. Produced in collaboration with the SLS, PBT and WSL, the docu-series explores the iconic subcultures of each sport, their shared belief in openness and the impact that being part of the Olympic Games has on their communities — past, present and future.

The synopsis of the skateboarding documentary unveiled today is as follows:

• Concrete Dreams: From the birth of street skateboarding in the 1980s to its consecration at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, this is the story of a community built on one unspoken rule – Respect. It encourages you to see the world a different way, to go create and always get back up, no matter how often you fall.

The synopses of next documentaries in the series are as follows:

• Breaking Boundaries: As breakers get ready for their Olympic Games Paris 2024 debut, this is the story of a global community born from the streets and shooting for the stars. It is a celebration of breaking as an explosion of energy and soul that gives you a sense of expression and belonging and encourages you to do something we’ve never seen before.

• The Next Wave: Surf legends and icons in the making share their story as they embark on their journey to Paris 2024. It is the ultimate love story between them and the ocean as they prepare to take that leap and a celebration of surf as a way of life, passed down to generations, and a culture that’s not only survived but gotten stronger.

“Samsung supports and celebrates with the skateboarding, breaking, and surfing communities as they continue on an incredible journey to the Olympic stage,” said Stephanie Choi, EVP & Head of Marketing of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We’re honored to tell their stories and help shine light on these sports communities for wider audiences through this docu-series. We hope they inspire many to push boundaries, support each other and always stay open.”

“We were really excited to partner with Samsung on this docu-series and share our story and our culture with the whole world,” said Tim Greenberg, WSL EVP, Content Strategy and Production. “Surfing is unlike any other sport on the planet. This is such an amazing opportunity to open up our community and celebrate what brings us all together.”

“This is a big year for us and our sport. The future of women surfers is really bright, and the Olympic Games give us that long-term vision,” said Johanne Defay (Surfing, France). “They are a chance for us to really show the world what surfing is all about. Not only our skill on the waves, but what we stand for as a community — committed to giving back to our sport and to our planet — and “The Next Wave” truly honors that.”

“Everyone looks out for each other, that’s the special thing about having this small community,” said John John Florence (Surfing, USA). “It’s exciting to be able to open our community to the world with this documentary.”

“Finding Skateboarding was like falling in love for the first time,” said Rayssa Leal (Skateboarding, Brazil). “I’m so excited to share our story with this documentary and show young girls what skateboarding is all about.”

“Skateboarding is a chance for people to show 100% of themselves and really push their own limits,” said Jagger Eaton (Skateboarding, USA). What if you’re one morning away from making all your dreams come true? You never know how close you are to success. Hope you guys love the documentary as much as I did! I’m stoked to share our journey with you.”

“Skateboarding is all about freedom, you can just pick up your board and go anywhere. It’s like becoming a kid again,” said Aurelien Giraud (Skateboarding, France). “I hope our story inspires you to pick up that skateboard and enjoy the ride.”

“Breaking is special. When I’m dancing, it’s like nothing matters in the world except for me just being me,” said Grace “Sunny” Choi (Breaking, USA). “There’s going to be a lot of great opportunities coming out of the Olympic Games from the added awareness and hopefully also more parents wanting to put their kids into breaking. I hope this documentary makes you as excited as we are to share this culture with the world.”

“This was such an exciting project to be a part of,” said American skateboarding icon and entrepreneur, Eric Koston, who lent his perspective to “Concrete Dreams”. “Our sport has such a deep connection to film. To see these voices come together to celebrate our sport, our journey, and our heritage is huge.”

In addition to the screenings at SLS, PBT and WSL events, the docu-series will go live on Samsung’s YouTube channel. Visit YouTube to watch “Concrete Dreams” and check out the trailers for upcoming documentaries.