BBC to have 765 accredited staff covering Olympics

The BBC has announced it will have 765 accredited members of staff covering the Olympics in London this year, adding that its "teams are driven by the scale of the overall coverage".

In a blog post Roger Mosey, who is director of London 2012 at the BBC said "just 23 per cent" of staff in the BBC's new MediaCityUK in Salford will be travelling down to the capital.

Mosey said the 765 staff accredited for the games this year represents an "inevitable" increase on the 493 accredited to cover the previous Olympics in Beijing.

He added that this rise reflects "the massive increase in output" with "four times as many TV channels and an extra radio station compared with Beijing" and the fact this year's games are at home "where there will be more coverage by BBC News and our Nations and Regions".

"To illustrate the first point, providing 24 digital channels means that we need extra commentators and pundits. Otherwise there would be nobody to explain what's going on at 26 different sports," he said.

"And whereas in Beijing we went on air pretty much straight into the opening ceremony, in London we're expecting a full day of ceremonial events and news coverage about the way the capital and the whole of the country are gearing up for the start of the games."

Mosey also explained that "audiences will expect us to report on security, travel and organisational issues alongside the live sport" in a different way than if the games were held elsewhere.

"At every stage of the BBC 2012 operation, we've been conscious of the need to run as efficient an operation as we can do and to spend our budget wisely.

"But equally we know that British audiences expect us to cover these games well, and it's a once in a lifetime moment for this country where the broadcasting will be required to live up to the event."

He added the BBC is confident it is "striking that balance".

• For details of what BBC sports editor David Bond thinks will be the impact of social media on this year’s Olympic games see this blog post.

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