To be clear there is literally an Olympic Village at Milano Cortina 2026 where those competing in the Winter Olympics are staying. These are the finest athletes in the world who are each giving their all in the name of having a moment that lasts forever.
In the same sense, the team at Getty is giving their all and creating thousands of moments that will last forever. Getty Images is the Official Photographic Agency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and works around the clock to ensure that anything and everything happening in their midsts is being documented in the most stellar way possible.
You can never plan enough
As action continues throughout the Olympics there are all sorts of surprises. There is action taking place within arenas, both literal and metaphorical, but there are people in the stands. Celebrities. Politicians. Dignitaries. It is critical for the Getty team (photographers, editors, staffers, you name it) to be ready for anything and everything.
I am fascinated by this process. Given the high-quality work that Getty produces all of the time it is no wonder that there is an enormous amount of planning and preparation that goes into execution. Mike Heiman, Getty Images’ VP of Global Sport, told SB Nation that work in the overall area where the Olympics are taking place began four years ago. Foundations have to be set. Variables have to be understood. Challenges have to be accounted for. Even then Snoop Dogg may show up and require a pivot in the moment, but Heiman and his team are considerate (and used to) curveballs being thrown at them on the regular and have a process for how to handle it.
It takes practice and execution to get these incredible stills that preserve these moments for all of time, but it all ultimately comes down to the planning that Mike talked about. Getty photographers and staffers are well-trained and have a deep understanding of the sports and events that they cover so they are able to be the eyes of the world at any given moment.
Thinking about Getty’s role in sport and the Olympics specifically made me think about an expression that I take issue with. People talk about certain points in our lives and refer to them as moments that are fleeting. Not to get too literal or silly here, but all moments are fleeting. What’s more… all moments are fleeting at exactly the same pace. I understand the expression and appreciate the sentiment that it provides, but this is life. It is happening.
It is this idea that leads to my deep appreciation for what Getty has to offer. We look at the photographs that they take and are in awe, but what amazes me is that due to their hard work, care, and curation… the moments they find and shoot are no longer fleeting. They preserve them. Getty is more than a team assembled to deliver world-class photographs, they are time-stoppers and memory-savers. They are documentarians who have done the impossible, they have made the moments stand still and across all of time.
Do me a favor and think about this next time a luge is speeding down the track, a figure-skater is landing an incredible move, or when a puck meets the back of the net in the most-needed moment. Those things are unfolding so quickly and while it will take longer than that someday our memories of them will as well.
Getty has established the power and drive to save us, though. They are the keepers of the flame and in this case the one that burns bright in Milano Cortina.
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