During 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, 5G and 4K are the main technologies available to many viewers. There is some AI, but it is mostly used for the benefit of the athletes. For 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina There is more technology than ever, for athletes and fans.

Much of that technology has never been used at the Games before, said Yiannis Exarchos, the managing director of Olympic Broadcasting Services and executive director of Olympic Channel Services. The two organizations are responsible for producing the majority of television, radio, and digital coverage, and content on Olympics.com. “At Milano Cortina, people will have experiences like never before,” Exarchos said.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Drone Views of Athlete Performances

One of the big technologies coming to the Milano Cortina Olympics is first-person view, or FPV, drones. These radio-controlled planes transmit images from their onboard cameras in real time to “offer dynamic views of race tracks,” Exarchos explained.

This year’s Games will also be the first to offer 360-degree real-time replay. Offered as part of a collaboration with Alibaba, the system uses a multi-camera replay system and stoboscopic analysis of multi-angle views, freeze frames, and slow-motion images of incredible athlete movements.

Another first is a new tracking system for curling stones. “It is possible to see the path, speed, and rotation of each stone in real time,” Exarchos explained. Suspended rail cameras and ice-level views help viewers better understand the game, as well as detailed stone trajectory graphics and real-time data.

New AI Tool in the Olympics: Olympic GPT

Have a question about this year’s Games? Olympic GPT is here to help. The bot specializes in creating content for the Olympics.com website. It will offer real-time results and information on sports regulations, and, for the first time, will have the ability to interact with questions about the results of ongoing competitions.

“Artificial-intelligence-based article summaries on Olympics.com will give fans a quick and clear overview,” Exarchos said. “They highlight key points to help users decide what to investigate further, while also improving accessibility and reading from mobile devices.”

Virtual Video Production

For the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, much of the video production will move to the cloud. Virtual outside broadcasting (OB) vans help decentralize the process of getting images from events to fans’ screens. The use of virtual cloud infrastructure, according to the organizers, will help reduce energy consumption by about 50 percent and enable remote production for events such as curling and speed skating.

Everything will be managed through a fully cloud-based master control room that was recently tested at the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia in January. There, the saving of space is 75 percent compared to the previous championship, while the energy consumption is reduced by 65 percent.

The Big Data Era of the Olympics

For this winter’s Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services is also testing an automated description platform to help teams manage the large amount of video that comes live at their events. “Artificial intelligence breaks down broadcasts into discoverable clips, suggests shot descriptions and keywords, and helps users quickly find highlights, making storytelling faster and easier,” Exarchos said. The AI ​​will then analyze real-time traffic spikes on Olympics.com and identify the most valuable moments for fans.

This story originally appeared on WIRED Italy. It was translated from Italian.