Google+, YouTube to bring events of the Olympics to Kenyans in a special way

By Eric Akasa

 The stage is set for the (30th) Olympics in London from 27th July to 12th August. Kenyans are waiting in anticipation for the gold medals their national team will be bringing in, and to them showing their prowess in the usual 1-2-3 style. Through Google+ and YouTube this Olympics experience will be brought into the homes, hearts and minds of Kenyans.

 Kenya is one of the 54 countries who have the rights to live stream the Olympic Games online as YouTube has purchased non-exclusive digital rights to stream the live Olympic Games of Summer 2012. During the games, viewers can choose to watch each event via a live YouTube stream - if events are happening concurrently viewers will be able to choose which stream they want to watch. All videos from the games will also be stored on youtube.com/Olympics making this destination the one-stop-shop for all Olympic content.

 The Kenyan Olympic page on G+ is the place to find rich Kenyan Olympic Team content. The page is being supported by 5 experienced sports journalists who will be on the ground in London with full access to the Olympic stadium and athletes. Supporting journalists will develop unique and up-to-date content (in some cases real-time content such as live Hangouts with Olympians) and share this content on the Kenyan Olympic Team’s +page.

 “The IOC’s live streaming on its YouTube channel will consist of 11 different simultaneous high-definition broadcasts, all with English language commentary. There will be ten live feeds from London 2012, running 9am to 11pm (London time) (on some days, these will start early or finish later based on competition schedule), plus a 24-hour broadcast of the Olympic News Channel, which includes summaries of the latest results, general reports on different events, and interviews with athletes. The Olympics have a great unifying effect; we are excited to bring this magic even closer to Kenyans, and to ensure they follow their teams’ progress every step of the way,” says Stephen Nuttal, Google, Head of Sport, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

 While the IOC YouTube channel will allow people to stay up to date with the games, Google+ will enable actual engagement with national sports heroes and between fans. Kenyans can now follow the lives of the Kenyan Olympic team on the Kenya Olympics Google+ page which is being managed by Samsung.

 Kenya House is a Brand Kenya project promoting the key opportunities or ‘pillars’ of Kenya; Trade, Export, Tourism, Investment and Sport through a physical location to be situated in London during the Olympic Games.  A series of events have been developed to promote the ‘pillars’ of Kenya to tourists visiting London for the games. Google have collaborated on this project with the goal of extending the reach of Kenya House beyond its physical location - connecting the events and experiences in the House with an online audience both in Kenya and globally. A series of Google Hangouts from the London-based Kenya House will be broadcast to the public, where Kenyans will see firsthand the activities from the house in Stratford being used to showcase the most iconic aspects of the country.

“One of the big bets for this country has been the Olympics; we have such great sporting talent, we have an opportunity to share this talent and Kenyan successes with the world. We have a great opportunity to celebrate our talent and demonstrate our unity,” explains Joe Mucheru, Google Kenya Country Manager. “We have a huge opportunity to share the Kenyan message online, forging this unity digitally - we want to share these plans with you all and let you know how you can get involved by using the large amount of content being developed with the end goal of supporting Kenya and the Kenyan team.

 The Google Kenya team looks forward to sharing this special experience with everyone, and is looking forward to helping Kenyans share the information they care about with the people they care about. “We are happy to provide Kenyans with multiple ways to access and share the magic of the games.” Notes Joe concluded.