In February 2026, the world’s attention will turn to Milano-Cortina as the Winter Olympics unfolds across the Italian Alps. But this Games will be unlike any before it—a showcase of not just athletic excellence, but technological innovation at an unprecedented scale. Behind every crisp broadcast feed, instant replay, and real-time stat overlay will be Alibaba Cloud, the engine powering what could be the most digitally advanced Winter Olympics in history.
Since forging its historic partnership with the International Olympic Committee in January 2017, Alibaba has fundamentally reimagined how the Olympic Games operate, broadcast, and captivate billions worldwide. As the official Cloud Services and E-Commerce Platform Services partner, the company has orchestrated a comprehensive digital transformation that makes the Games not just more efficient, but more immersive and accessible than ever before.
Broadcasting Revolution: From Satellites to the CloudFor 60 years, satellites were Olympic broadcasting’s backbone. That era ended at Paris 2024, when cloud technology became the primary distribution method for the first time in Olympic history. More than two-thirds of live broadcast signals flowed through Alibaba Cloud’s OBS Live Cloud platform, serving 54 broadcasters globally—a watershed moment proving cloud infrastructure could handle the world’s largest sporting event.
The transformation began at Tokyo 2020 with the debut of OBS Cloud, enabling broadcasters to access Olympic content remotely without deploying massive on-site teams and equipment. By Beijing 2022, over 20 broadcasters were using the platform, achieving a 40% reduction in on-site personnel compared to PyeongChang 2018.
At Paris 2024, OBS Cloud 3.0 reached full maturity, processing a record 11,000 hours of footage—15% more than Tokyo. The Content+ service delivered live sessions, athlete interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and social media clips directly to broadcasters instantly.
For Milano-Cortina, expect this infrastructure to evolve further. European edge computing nodes will enable even lower latency, faster streaming, and adaptive broadcast quality tailored to regional connectivity—ensuring snow sport’s split-second moments reach fans worldwide with crystalline clarity.
Artificial Intelligence Enhancing the Viewing ExperienceAI has already transformed how audiences experience Olympic competition. Alibaba Cloud’s multi-camera replay system creates mesmerizing 360-degree, slow-motion replays that capture every nuance of athletic achievement. Debuting at Beijing 2022 for curling and speed skating, the technology expanded dramatically by Paris 2024—deployed at 14 venues across 21 sports, from wrestling to rugby Sevens.
These AI-reconstructed moments transform pivotal performances into immersive experiences that help viewers understand the extraordinary precision required at elite levels. Beyond replays, automatic highlight generation enables broadcasters to assemble discipline-specific recaps instantly.. AI technology even restored and colorized century-old footage from the 1924 Paris Olympics, bringing Olympic heritage vividly to life.
Operational Efficiency Through Cloud InfrastructureThe transformation extends beyond what viewers see. Beijing 2022 was the first Winter Olympics to migrate all core systems to the cloud—eliminating sprawling data centers and expensive legacy IT infrastructure. The IOC and organizing committees moved critical operational systems to Alibaba’s infrastructure, dramatically reducing hardware costs while improving reliability and enabling real-time, data-driven decision-making.
This operational efficiency directly impacts future host cities. Paris 2024’s International Broadcasting Centre was 13% smaller than Tokyo 2020 and 23% smaller than Rio 2016—proof that cloud infrastructure reduces the physical footprint and financial burden of hosting the Games, making the Olympics more sustainable and accessible to a broader range of cities.
What’s Next: Milano-Cortina and BeyondThe IOC and Alibaba Cloud have launched a Media Archiving AI solution that organizes and digitizes decades of Olympic footage into a searchable cloud library—ensuring every iconic moment from the Games’ history remains accessible forever.
When the torch ignites in February 2026, Milano-Cortina will demonstrate that the cloud and AI aren’t merely upgrades to Olympic delivery. They represent a fundamental reimagining of how humanity experiences global sport—more connected, more intelligent, and more inclusive than ever before. For the world’s largest and most complex sporting event, the cloud has proven itself essential to uniting the world in celebration of human achievement in the AI era.
