They’ve been preparing for years. Fine-tuning their execution strategies . . . diligently practicing their routines . . . and looking for ways to get better, faster and stronger on their quest for worldwide success at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
No, we’re not talking about the nearly 3,000 competing athletes from around the globe (although they certainly fit the bill). We’re referring to those who ready the city of Sochi, Russia, for the world’s most global event of the season: the official Games organizers.
From February 6 to 23, an unprecedented number of languages will be heard in Sochi. With millions of spectators and thousands of participants—and let’s not forget the billions of people tuning in from afar—how do you handle the language translation requirements needed for such a diverse crowd? Like winning a gold medal, it’s no easy feat.
We have three little-known facts on how this year’s Olympics organizers plan to pull it off.
1. A first-of-its-kind translation forum puts language translation center stage
How prepared are the Olympics and the city to understand and speak to people at this event? That’s the question the International Olympics Committee (IOC) asked as they held the first-ever Olympics translation forum. The forum, titled “Sochi 2014: Translation Issues,” hosted over 600 professional linguists and interpreters. The goal was to come up with solutions to solidify the language translation support structure of the Games.
“We want to provide the warmest welcome possible to our guests, and speaking their languages will help us do that,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, president of the Sochi IOC.
As a result of the discussion, a few important things got the green light:
- 1,000 professional interpreters will be available onsite to help spectators and athletes with language needs (twice the number of interpreters employed for other Winter Olympics).
- A call center that provides information in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Russian will be available 24/7 throughout the events to assist guests with everything from directions to basic information about the Games.
- An official Olympics mobile app for smartphones will provide up-to-the-minute details on the event in these seven languages.
While this certainly doesn’t come close to covering the hundreds of languages that will be spoken at the Olympics, the IOC hopes that this dedication to language translation sets the stage for future Olympic Games and serves as a step in the right direction for managing multiple language needs at these events.
2. The Olympics has three declared official languages to unite multiple voices
That’s right. There are only three primary languages used at the Olympics. Two (English and French) are permanent, and the third is the language of the host country. So, in this case, it’s Russian.
The official Sochi Olympics website and other marketing materials are available in these three languages.
In addition to translated collateral, many people have worked on their language skills to become proficient speakers in preparation for this event.
- Certain locals such as referees, judges and taxi drivers have been prepared to speak these languages, focusing primarily on English.
- All Olympic volunteers are required to demonstrate an upper-intermediate command of English.
- At least 300 doctors have studied up on English specifically to work at the Olympics.
- More than 40,000 law enforcement officials will be able to converse with guests in the three official languages.
3. The 2014 Winter Olympics will engage worldwide fans on social media in seven languages
The 2012 London Summer Olympics was declared the first social Olympics. The large-scale event generated over 150 million Twitter tweets and 116 million Facebook posts. Talk about record-setting social buzz.
To manage a global social media following of this magnitude, the Winter Olympics committee has decided to reach fans on several social platforms in seven languages. Contrary to the 2012 Games, the committee had to think well beyond Facebook and Twitter to reach the highest number of fans.
As just one example, they’re set up with Vkontakte—also known as VK—Russia’s most popular social media network. It has over 49 million people spending on average about six hours on the site in a month. So far the IOC has seen great success here. Its brand page is the most popular on VK, with over two million subscribers before the events even begin.
Outpace your competitors by being similarly proactive with language translation
Of course, this is just a mere glimmer into the intricacies of preparing for the hundreds of languages soon to be spoken in Sochi. The whole country has had to prepare for the millions of international visitors that will attend the Games.
So what does this mean for you? While you’re probably not hosting one of the world’s most-watched events, you—like the IOC—need a winning strategy for building relationships with customers around the globe. At Sajan we’ve been coaching our clients for years. We’ve developed custom solutions to help them outpace their competitors and stand proudly on the first-place podium. Just ask us how.
If you suspect your language translation program could use an Olympian-level tune-up, check out 3 things the Olympics can teach you about translation efficiency.
Maybe your organization doesn’t have language translation needs on the same scale as the Olympics, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a major undertaking. How many languages does your organization support?