Goodyear blimp chosen for Olympics aerial coverage

The Goodyear blimp will be present over London during the Olympics later this month and in August thanks to Goodyear’s selection as provider of aerial images by the US-based NBC network. Goodyear will lend its aerial presence to NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Olympic Games for the tenth time; the company most recently worked for NBC Olympics during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“Goodyear’s reputation as a superior aerial provider is a natural match for the prestige of NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Olympic Games,” said Nancy Ray, Goodyear’s director of airship operations.  “We look forward to providing viewers with one of the best and most unique views of the action from up above.”

Goodyear started its aerial coverage almost 90 years ago.  The Goodyear blimp Volunteer gave a local radio station a bird’s-eye view of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932.  Goodyear also coordinated aerial views for the television broadcaster at the Los Angeles, Lillehammer, Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City, Turin, Beijing and Vancouver Olympics.

Goodyear’s long-standing relationship with NBC stretches back to 1955 when the first live US transcontinental broadcast from an aircraft occurred from a Goodyear Blimp at the 1955 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl college football game in California. Today, Goodyear blimps provide aerial coverage to all major networks around the world using high-definition and gyro-stabilised camera platforms.