Med Games tough for technology partners, too

MERSİN - Hürriyet Daily News

The southern city of Mersin was awarded the hosting rights just 18 months ago. AA photo

Delivering things on time was always going to be tough for the Mediterranean Games organization committee, even for the timekeepers.

Atos is the official timing and scoring partner of the multi-sport event, which started in Mersin on June 20, and the technology giant had its own race against time to win.

Atos Turkey CEO Orhan Akbulut said the company won a tender to become the technology partner of the Games in October 2012. “We managed to finish our work on time, but obviously we could have used a longer period,” he told a group of journalists.

That was the nature of this Med Games, however, since Mersin was only awarded the hosting rights 18 months ago, after initial host Volos failed to deliver its promises due to Greece’s economic crisis.

Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kılıç said the country “worked miracles” in delivering dozens of new facilities, thanks to 800 million Turkish Liras of investment.

As for the timing and scoring systems partner, Atos, this was the extension of the company’s teaming up with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The company has been the IOC’s official information technology (IT) partner since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Akbulut believes Istanbul’s 2020 Olympic Games bid could open new doors not only for the company, but also “give a boost to the Turkey’s technology scene as a whole.”