Few events have the power to bring people together like the Olympics. For decades, watch parties have played an integral role in helping people share the experience of the world’s greatest sporting event, but no watch party could promise to recreate the sensation of actually being at the Games in person—until now.
On July 30, Cosm hosted members of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, friends and family of current Olympians, and many former Olympians, including Summer Sanders, Brandi Chastain, Dan Cnossen, and David Boudia, at their Salt Lake City Experience Center for the world’s first live and fully immersive Olympic Games watch party.
Guests were invited to experience Cosm’s first-of-its-kind 180° 8K 20M diameter LED dome, taking them virtually to the sidelines of a Team USA beach volleyball knockout match and then to the Tokyo Aquatic Center for Katie Ledecky’s Gold Medal swim in the Women’s 800m freestyle final with live, in-person commentary from Olympic gold-medalist Summer Sanders. Immersive feeds were provided courtesy of NBC.
The Cosm experience is a breakthrough combination of the immersiveness of VR while with the irreplaceable phenomena of being in the moment together with your fellow fans.
“The real thrill of live sports—or any live event—is the collective experience you have in a crowd of people all hanging on the same thread and sharing the same emotional peaks and valleys,” says Jeb Terry, CEO of Cosm. “You can’t get that in a headset. You have to be there, physically together. We’re combining virtual, physical and social experiences into one transcendent experience we call Shared Reality.”
For those who can’t be in Tokyo—which, for these COVID-impacted Games, is just about everybody—Shared Reality is the next best thing, in many cases, better than being there, and according to Terry, this is just a taste of what’s to come. “This is just the first of many Shared Reality events we plan to deliver through venues around the world. We’re here to redefine the way the world experience content, and expand the fan experience for everyone. Consider this a peek into what’s possible.”