Alibaba Cloud Helps Deliver Smarter, Greener Milano Cortina 2026 With First Olympic LLMs

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence arm of Alibaba Group and a Worldwide TOP Partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), underpinned the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with cloud and AI services designed to make the event the most intelligent in Olympic history.

The company's platforms supported the IOC and the local organising committee in monitoring energy use, optimising transport, enhancing broadcasting workflows and enabling the IOC's first use of large language model (LLM) technology to improve fan and stakeholder experiences.

Kirsty Coventry, International Olympic Committee President, said: "Every Olympic Games leaves its own mark in terms of technological innovation. With Alibaba's Cloud technologies and Qwen models, these Games have set a new benchmark for intelligence and creativity."

Dr. Feifei Li, Senior Vice President of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, President of International Business, said: "Milano Cortina 2026 marks a milestone with the first use of LLM technologies in the Olympic history powered by Alibaba's Qwen models. Our cloud and AI-powered systems that supported Milano Cortina 2026 demonstrate our dedication to enabling smarter operations, deeper engagement, and new possibilities for the Olympic Movement."

On sustainability, AI-driven tools and energy‑efficient cloud infrastructure helped organisers measure and analyse carbon emissions across venues. An Enhanced Energy Data Management System provided real‑time visibility of consumption and emissions, while an Intelligent chatbot powered by Alibaba's Qwen models surfaced historical and live insights on electricity use and power-demand contingencies. An Energy Issue Tracking System digitised anomaly detection and resolution workflows, and a codeveloped Sustainability Platform assessed the Games' full lifecycle footprint to support long‑term community benefits.

Given Milano Cortina 2026's record geographical spread across more than 22,000 square kilometres of alpine terrain and historic cities, Alibaba Cloud systems helped coordinate competition operations. A new Video Adjudication system, built on low‑latency livestreaming, synchronised multiple feeds to assist referees with foul detection and instant replays, and was deployed in Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard Slopestyle to bolster judging accuracy. The Transportation Management System integrated across venues via the Milano Cortina 2026 Transport App, offering personalised routing and live updates; it mobilised over 80,000 IOC staff, athletes, volunteers, media and key personnel. Additional applications, including an e‑voucher system for meals and a meteorological portal delivering real‑time weather intelligence, also ran on Alibaba Cloud's resilient infrastructure.

Fan and stakeholder engagement was expanded through Qwen‑powered solutions. An "Intelligent Pin Trading Station" in the Milano Olympic Village combined embodied devices with AI that understands language and visuals: athletes placed pins into capsules and used natural voice and gestures while a robotic arm selected a pin left by a previous participant. The station facilitated more than 8,000 exchanges, refreshing a cherished Olympic tradition with playful, AI‑enabled interactions.

Across the wider ecosystem, Qwen models underpinned the first Olympic use of LLM technologies, supporting multilingual fan interactions, intelligent content search and streamlined information management. Key platforms — including the Olympic AI Assistant, the NOC AI Assistant and the Sports AI Platform — leveraged Alibaba Cloud to enhance accessibility and operational efficiency. The NOC AI Assistant enabled staff to find documents, policies and grant guidelines via natural‑language queries with built‑in multilingual translation.

In broadcasting, the OBS Live Cloud Platform powered by Alibaba Cloud shifted production and distribution from satellite to the cloud, delivering 442 live video feeds to 42 broadcasters worldwide. The cloud‑first approach reduced the physical footprint, with the International Broadcasting Centre 25% smaller than at Beijing 2022 and 30% smaller than at Pyeongchang 2018. Apsara Video technology supported cloud‑based live streaming of press conferences, daily briefings and athlete interviews, while a fully hosted Game Video Content Distribution service enabled processing, editing, live and on‑demand delivery, and secure downloads for journalists.

Advanced AI tools further modernised coverage. Real‑Time 360º Replay systems generated multi‑angle highlights, and the Qwen‑powered Automatic Media Description System (AMD) processed livestream signals from 391 competition sessions. Media Rights Holders accessed 4,198 video highlights created with Real‑Time 360º Replay, accelerating turnaround and enriching storytelling.

Through its collaboration with the IOC, Alibaba Cloud helped make Milano Cortina 2026 more sustainable, efficient and intelligent, setting a template for future Olympic hosts.

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