Nearly 150,000 accounts have watched our snapshots of this year’s Olympics unfold since Feb 17th. 1.2M+ views from nearly 1M accounts in 30 days. Surreal. Thank you!!! As the Paralympics soon begin and the Olympians have returned to their homes, I want to illuminate the purpose behind these posts.
One of the most invisible Olympic stories is the story of the spectator. Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world converge on the Olympic host country every two years. All of them have their own specific reason for attendance. Some raised an athlete from birth. Others are celebrating a family tradition. This often extremely inconvenient and rare migration is made by folks far and wide, and the most we hear from them is through chants and cheers in the background of a TV broadcast.
As a spectator, nearly every piece of the experience is branded by some key sponsor. The Visa souvenir tickets, the Coca-Cola Pin Trading site. McDonald’s once sponsored the Games and there was even a McDonald’s located in the athlete’s village. I would bet that not one single one of these spectators travelled to the Olympics just because they love McDonald’s. There must be something bigger than the commercial fan experience.
With this photo and video series, my sister (12-time Olympic attendee)
@haleyjshaw , two close friends and first time Olympic attendees
@juander.lust @theoffbeatsdept , and I captured the Games only from the spectator’s perspective. We strictly used cameras and equipment that were allowed in through standard venue security with no official accreditation. Our lenses were restricted to a max length of 20cm, per venue guidelines. This was to create a forced perspective in our work that brings the energy of an attendee of the Games to the forefront, to help you see what they see, and to help us get closer to the why behind this pilgrimage of sport.
Photos 1 🇰🇷 and 4 🇵🇱 by
@haleyjshaw
Photos 2 🇸🇮 and 3 🇨🇳 by me.
All 35mm.
@milanocortina2026 @unseenolympiad
#unseenolympiad #beyondsport #milancortina2026 #shotonfilm #35mm
