IOC “Createathon” brings together young leaders with local start-ups, creatives and entrepreneurs

The first ever IOC “Createathon”, staged during the 4th annual IOC Youth Summit held from 6 to 8 September in Lausanne, gathered 53 IOC Young Leaders who put their creativity to the test for the forthcoming Winter Youth Olympic Games. This major multi-sport event will be held in Lausanne and the region next January.

Based on a digital hackathon – a design-sprint usually involving computer programmers – the “Createathon” set ten teams of IOC Young Leaders the task of creating an interactive and immersive IOC space for Lausanne 2020, where an estimated 100,000 fans are expected to pass through. ThinkSport supported the smooth running of this experiment.

Over eight hours and at Synathlon next to the premises of ThinkSport, the IOC Young Leaders worked within their respective teams to squeeze out their very best ideas, all of which included fun and immersive concepts which combined sport and culture. The concepts all focused around living the Olympic Values daily. They were supported by a group of coaches, including local start-ups, Ted-Ex coaches, storytellers, virtual reality specialists, social media experts, architects, an expert of the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL)​, designers and many more. 

The teams had three minutes to pitch to a judging panel made up of the experts and headed by Lausanne 2020 President Virginie Faivre, who reviewed the proposal based on delivery, feasibility and creativity. The top three teams were invited to share their concepts with the IOC President, Thomas Bach, on the final day of the Summit. 

Read the full IOC story here.

All ten teams presented strong and tangible ideas, some of which may be considered by Lausanne 2020 and the IOC for implementation during the YOG. ThinkSport’s involvement in the “Createathon” is a good example of activities which will be accelerated by the new Sport Innovation Hub, currently being developed in the region. Learn more here.​