May 16, 2012

AFP to send 180 journalists to cover Olympics

French news agency Agence French Presse has revealed its sending 180 journalists to the UK to cover the London Olympics in July.

The agency plans to send at least 12 teams of video reporters to the capital to cover the build-up to the Olympics from 2 July, with the aim of providing more than 1,000 videos in six languages.

The team includes 70 AFP photographers from 24 countries around the world, which are expected to provide up to 2,000 photos a day.

AFP also anticipates transmitting between 400 and 500 stories a day in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

AFP also revealed yesterday that it plans to send a further 80 journalists to Poland and Ukraine from both AFP and its German subsidiary SID to cover Euro 2012 in June.

When the tournament kicks off on 8 June it will have 22 photographers on the ground, with at least one photographer attached to each team in the tournament.

AFP chairman and chief executive Emmanuel Hoog said: ‘The coverage of two events as long awaited as the Olympic Games and the Euro 2012 is another opportunity for the AFP to cater to its clients with all the power of its international network.

“Sports are a strategic priority for the Agency, which regularly demonstrates its editorial and technical performance in every discipline.”

Only a handful of UK regional papers have received passes for the games, including just one weekly title in London and four press passes for newspapers in Scotland.

Last September the Newspaper Society said it was in talks with the British Olympic Association about creating a pool of around 12 reporters that will provide copy to the 150 or so regional and local newspapers which applied for accreditation prior to the deadline.

But the outcome of the talks is unknown because the NS has declined to comment on its negotiations with the the BOA.

Around 410 press passes have been granted for UK print media to cover the 2012 Games, not including broadcasters or the Press Association, which has a further 90 passes as the host agency.