Prior to a major sporting event beginning in Paris, France in July 2024, NEP Group CEO Martin Stewart shared a personal story of admiration and appreciation for the pure competition of sport, and all of the talented people working behind the scenes who bring it to life. This article first appeared on LinkedIn on July 25, 2024. See the article here.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 begin tomorrow as a celebration of global togetherness and athletic excellence. The Games are the pinnacle of international sport and an amazing event to watch. When the world’s best cross the finish line with just milliseconds to spare, or a game-winning goal is scored to clinch the gold medal, the fan experience is euphoric.

In 2012 I was privileged to be a member of the Board of Directors for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and I had the great fortune of being able to attend many events. The highlight for me, as a former school athlete, was watching David Rudisha break the 30-year-old 800m record while Seb Coe, the previous record holder, sat right behind me. It was a magical experience to watch live and one I will never forget!

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It takes a combination of raw talent, strength, speed, discipline and exceptional drive for athletes like Seb and David to reach that level – and an entire “village” of professionals who coach, prep, fine tune and support every aspect of the elite athlete’s health and performance. These are the people you likely won’t notice from the stands.

This is how I think about the thousands of professionals in our industry who work behind the scenes to bring live sport and entertainment, including the Games, to life for all of us.

Behind the scenes, crew members from every part of the world will be working inside and outside of event venues to deliver the action you watch on your television or device. As head of NEP, I am proud to call many of these professionals my colleagues and friends.

They are the experts who operate the cameras that capture every angle, design the lighting that brings stunning images to life, mix audio from dozens of sources to tell stories through sound, design and install the magnificent video screens you see around each venue, and replay the moments you want to see over and over again.

-Martin Stewart, CEO