Samsung Olympic Experience Fan Zone

With just days remaining until the London Olympics finally get under way, official Olympic sponsor Samsung has announced it’s creating a purpose-built Fan Zone in the Britomart precinct for the public to watch all the action.

Located inside the Atrium on Takutai Square, the fan zone is providing Olympic coverage across seven separate screens – one of which measures an impressive 33 square meters- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Giant coverage is also being projected on to the side of the Stanbeth House building during evenings as well as a special ‘Gold Moments’ presentation including John Walker’s epic 1976 Olympic triumph in Montreal.

The Fan Zone is being officially opened at a launch event on Friday 27 July.

Samsung NZ Sales Director Jon Barrell says the idea behind the fan zone is simple.

“Samsung has had a long association with the Olympic Games and we just want to give the public a place where they can come and watch the action and engage with what’s going on in London.”

“We are focusing on showing as much of the Kiwi team in action as we can but it’s also about providing people with a genuine link to the athletes. The Fan Zone gives people the opportunity to write messages and send them to the Olympic Village in London for our athletes to read,” says Barrell.

While the Fan Zone gives people the chance to linger and watch coverage of the Games, it also challenges them to ‘Measure up to our Own’ Olympians at a special art installation on the lawn area of Britomart.

Four large figures depicting Kiwi athletes competing in shot put, rowing, swimming and running provide information about the sports and photo opportunities to passers-by to see how they ‘measure up’ to the real thing.

A genuine Olympic flame-bearing torch is also being flown in to the Fan Zone once the Games are underway.

“The Olympics are the pinnacle of sporting achievement and we are bringing them to life for everyone here who wants to see them,” Jon Barrell says.

Samsung New Zealand is the official communications partner for the New Zealand Olympic and Youth Olympic Games teams and the official mobile communications partner of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. It is also the official partner for the New Zealand London 2012 Olympics campaign.
 
Globally, Samsung has been the official wireless telecommunications equipment partner for the Olympic Games for more than 20 years. In 2011, Samsung announced it had appointed football legend David Beckham as the company’s global ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics.