How Localization Services Create Memorable Global Events

As the Winter Games open in Beijing, it’s exciting to see major international events gradually returning to something resembling normality. The difficulty of holding such events in the third year of a global pandemic should not be underestimated, so it’s natural that extra attention is being paid to safety measures to ensure that the event takes place. However, while health and safety is a make-or-break issue, it’s not the only essential component of a successful event.

Localization is a crucial process happening behind the scenes which ensures that events like the Winter Games run smoothly. After all, the Winter Games attract competitors and spectators from all over the world, bringing a huge number of languages and cultures together for a global celebration of sport. When the global community gathers, there is no communication without localization. 

In fact, localization impacts event planning and coordination to a surprising extent. Below, we’ll uncover some of the ways that localization services underpin large events like the Winter Games. We’ll also explain why great localization is the key to an event’s success or failure. 

Venues and Safety

Whether it’s a single meeting hall or a network of locations across a city, it's critical that the venue provides an excellent experience. Guests, spectators, and media partners will pass through these spaces. All of them need to be able to navigate the site easily. When these visitors come from a diverse range of countries and cultures, localization is a critical component of the guest experience. 

This might initially seem like a simple matter of translating signs and maps to help people navigate. However, it’s a much more in-depth process than that. Every single piece of text in the venue that communicates or instructs must be designed to simultaneously give the intended message in a dazzling array of languages and for vastly different cultures, all of which interpret language, colors, and symbols in a unique way. Depending on the event, signs might need to work in both Chinese, which is character-based, and Arabic, which is read from right to left. Slight changes to the text or layout of a sign can have an outsized impact on how easily attendees can follow the intended instructions. 

In the current climate, this ability to communicate clearly is even more important due to health and safety concerns. Due to the pandemic, instructions have become more complicated, as separate groups may have to visit the same site without encountering each other due to infection concerns. It’s also more important than ever that instructions for social distancing are followed to the letter. It only takes one misunderstanding to put an entire event in jeopardy. Localization can play a significant role in improving communication, and therefore reducing that possibility. 

Guests and Interpretation 

Before they even arrive at the event, international guests need an environment that makes them feel settled and comfortable. Communication is a key part of this. If guests receive all the information they need in a language and format that is natural to them, they will be able to provide the entertainment, performance, or insight that leads to a successful and memorable event. 

This process can start months before the event begins. From hotel information and assistance at the airport to pre-departure emails and care packages that brief visitors on what to expect, localized documents can help to build excitement for the event. They demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the guest that goes beyond a simple translation. 

International events also reap huge benefits from providing interpreters for groups of international guests. A good interpreter can take away many of the stresses and pressures of attending an event in a different environment, leaving the guest feeling comfortable and excited about the coming days and weeks. Like many of the other language services at these international events, interpreters often fade into the background, but they remain a critical piece of the puzzle. Without them, international events can easily fall apart.  

The City and the Message

For some events like the Winter Games, the need for localization goes a step further. These events involve a multi-billion-dollar investment towards improving infrastructure, upgrading venues, or releasing city- and country-wide marketing campaigns.

Naturally, this requires a huge amount of localization input, especially since the results of the event can affect perceptions of that city for decades to come. Infrastructure must be redesigned to benefit locals, but also in a way that is easy for international visitors to use. Announcements need to be recorded, signs need updating, menus need translating—every localization task goes a little way towards providing event attendees with an amazing experience.

In the end, research suggests that global events like the Winter Games play a decisive role in a city’s branding, and recommends that organizers approach them like a city branding campaign. As with every global advertising campaign, localization helps to transform both the content and message of that campaign into something that resonates across cultural borders. By refining the event into a simple, emotional, and memorable message, localization has a transformative impact on not only global events, but on the places where they are held.

Beyond the Event

Localization has a far-reaching impact on events like the Winter Games. The reason for that is simple: if you want to deliver incredible experiences to an international audience, nothing is too small to ignore.

The same is true for any other marketing campaign. Whether you’re hosting one of the world’s largest events or simply trying to add another language to your website, translation is only the first step. Localization will help you to realize your full potential, capturing and delighting audiences with content that is custom-made for them.

Lionbridge is one of the world’s foremost localization providers. We’ve partnered with everyone from giant multinationals to local businesses to build incredible experiences in all major languages and cultures. Contact us today to find out more about how localization can benefit your business.