The Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, on July 14.DIMITAR DILKOFF/Getty Images
When it comes to the Olympics, uncertainty has been the norm for CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson since taking on the job over five years ago.
That will finally change with the 2024 Paris Games.
“It has been thrilling,” Wilson said of preparing for a so-called ‘normal’ Olympics. “But I still don’t totally know what to expect because I’ve never done one.”
After succeeding Greg Stremlaw in the position, Wilson got to work planning the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But those Games were postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and significant restrictions were in place again for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
With a long-awaited return to Olympic normalcy at hand in the French capital, the Canadian rightsholder plans to take full advantage.
“I think Tokyo and Beijing was a lot of daily crisis aversion, crisis planning and preparation and so forth,” Wilson said in a recent interview. “This is a different level of planning but I think everyone has this excitement that (Paris is) going to be potentially transformational for the Olympic movement.
“I think it really has a chance to reignite people’s passion for the Olympics.”
The time zone difference – Paris is six hours ahead of the Eastern Time zone – will be a welcome change as well. The last three Games were held in Asia – Beijing, Tokyo and Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018 – which meant live programming ran late at night, overnight and into the morning for Canadian audiences.
The network’s morning show in Paris will originate from Canada Olympic House, a venue in the Park of Nations that will be packed with friends, family and supporters.
Veteran broadcaster Scott Russell will host the six-hour afternoon (ET) segment and CBC chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault will host special editions of “The National” from Paris. It will be the final Games for Russell, who recently announced that he plans to retire in September after nearly 40 years with the CBC.
In all, the network plans 22 hours of Olympic programming each day. Coverage will be provided on traditional television, the CBC website, app and Gem streaming service, Radio-Canada, and via partner networks TSN, RDS and Sportsnet.
“Just the sheer energy of the city is going to be on full display,” Wilson said. “We’re trying to be prepared to cover that as well and remind people what it’s like to have stadiums full of people and streets filled with tourists and fans and friends and family.
“Our coverage will try to reflect some of that energy back to Canadians. We believe that Paris is getting ready to throw just a huge party and I think we’re going to try to reflect that in our coverage as well.”
The Games begin July 24 – two days before the opening ceremony – and continue through the Aug. 11 closing ceremony.
About 200 CBC staffers will be on site at the Olympics, a network spokesperson said. Long-time CBC Sports executive producer and director Sherali Najak – a former Hockey Night in Canada executive producer – will serve as executive producer of the Games.
“He’s got a slightly different creative vision,” Wilson said. " I think it’s going to still be a CBC Olympics for sure in terms of what Canadians are used to seeing but it’s definitely going to have a twist in a lot of different ways.
“We are really hoping to celebrate that fact that the world is coming back together again in Paris.”
The CBC is also the domestic rightsholder for the Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympic Games.