10 Activity Ideas to Organize in Your Company During the Olympic Games
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- Ten activity ideas to organize at work during the Olympic Games, valid for any edition, summer or winter.
- The office Olympics remain the flagship activity: relay race, tug of war, ping-pong tournament, ball throwing, treasure hunt, building challenge.
- Three activities need almost nothing: the Olympic special quiz, the unusual sports quiz and the photo or meme contest.
- For teams spread across sites or working remotely: the connected challenge, the predictions contest, the relaxation sessions and the sports conference all run at a distance.
- The Winter Games use the same formats: office curling, indoor biathlon, a winter disciplines quiz.
- The advice: one or two well-chosen activities, plenty of communication around them, and a reward for the most engaged participants.
An Olympic fortnight is two weeks during which everyone talks about the same thing, at the office as much as anywhere else. So why not use it to boost team cohesion and employee engagement?
We have selected for you 10 original activity ideas to organize during the Olympic Games within your company. Whether you're sporty or not, whether you like watching the Olympics or not, don't worry: there's something for everyone! We've even thought of activities for your remote employees 👀
None of these ideas depends on one particular edition: they work for the Summer Games as well as for the Winter Games, the next ones being Los Angeles in 2028 and the French Alps in 2030.
end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code 1. The office Olympics
Office Olympics are one of the must-have activities to animate your team during the Olympic Games. These mini-competitions both create bonds and bring fun to your company. Here are some activity ideas that your employees might enjoy, from the most to the least sporty:
- The relay race. It can be organized in your offices or outdoors. The concept: each team covers a distance as fast as possible, passing an object (for example, a branded item) along the way. To spice things up, you can add obstacles (office chairs, tables…) and ask participants to complete challenges along the course.
- Tug of war. It's the same as in Squid Games (but less dangerous!). Two teams face off, each at one end of the rope. The one that manages to pull the rope to their side wins.
- The ping-pong tournament. This is fairly easy to organize if you have a ping-pong table. Otherwise, you can also organize a variant, for example a pétanque, foosball or darts tournament.
- The ball-throwing contest. Each employee must throw a ball into paper baskets placed at various distances. In this game, it's not speed that counts, but precision.
- The collaborative treasure hunt. In this game, teams must find "treasures" hidden in the company or nearby, by solving riddles. The first team to solve all the riddles wins.
- The building challenge. With limited materials (Lego, wooden sticks, straws, etc.), teams must build a structure that meets certain constraints. Be careful though: it must not fall!
- The innovation contest. The goal: find the best idea to improve employees' working environment. This might also give you other activity ideas for the Olympic Games ;).
2. Olympic special quiz
You're probably familiar with the "TV quiz show" format. Well, we suggest you recreate the same thing in your company, with a small twist: ask only questions about the Olympic Games.
Get some buzzers, a scoreboard, and a few questions of varying difficulty (depending on your employees' knowledge level), and you're all set!
Another alternative: if you're more into board games, you can invest in an Olympic and Paralympic Games special trivia game. The concept is very simple: each team must rate their knowledge from 1 to 10 on a wide range of Olympics-related topics. The first team to reach the end of the board wins.
3. The unusual sports quiz
Staying on the quiz theme, here's another Olympic Games activity, this time focused on unusual sports. Some are no longer practiced today, but believe us: there was a time when champions competed for prizes in more than a few bizarre disciplines 😅.
Pigeon shooting, standing high jump, ski dancing, swimming obstacle race, eisstock (or ice pétanque)… Many improbable sports have already been seen at the Olympics. So why not test your employees on them?
You could for example ask them to guess:
- which unusual sports actually exist (and which are made up),
- which ones have already appeared at the Olympics,
- and what they consist of.
You can find here some question ideas. Feel free to draw inspiration from them! To make the activity more fun, you can also invite your employees to invent a new unusual sport for the Olympics. Everyone can vote for the best idea, which you can then reward, or even submit to the Olympic committee 😉.
4. The connected challenge
If your team enjoys challenges, then this Olympic Games activity should appeal to them. The advantage of the connected challenge is that it can be done anywhere. It's therefore a good alternative for companies with employees spread across multiple sites or regularly working remotely.
This type of challenge can be done individually or as a team. It usually works through a mobile app, on which you can track your progress, that of your colleagues, and the goals you've set.
The most athletic will enjoy walking, running or cycling challenges. Others will prefer solidarity-based, cultural or artistic challenges. Don't hesitate to poll them to choose the most appropriate theme, for example by posting on your enterprise social network.
5. The e-sports tournament
This is one of the activities that will mostly appeal to video game fans. If you have this type of profile in your company, go for it! Otherwise, skip this one. After all, the important thing is that the Olympic Games activities you organize appeal to your employees.
Organizing an e-sports tournament is very simple. You need:
- a room with one or more gaming console(s),
- games everyone knows how to play (for example, Mario, League of Legends, FIFA, Call of Duty, etc.),
- a good commentator,
- and teams ready to compete!
6. The predictions contest
Do your teams enjoy making predictions? If so, they should love this special Olympic Games activity. Post on your internal social network to announce the predictions contest you want to organize and explain how it works (including the types of predictions requested, prizes to be won, etc.).
For example, you can ask for predictions on:
- the podium in each category,
- new world records set,
- the countries and/or athletes who will win the most medals,
- your country's position on the medal table.
As with any competitive game, you can also organize an awards ceremony to properly reward the winners.
7. The photo contest
Your employees enjoy capturing memorable moments? Invite them to take part in a photo contest on the theme of the Olympic Games. The goal: to elect the photo most representative of the Olympics.
Two options are available to your employees:
- Take "classic" photos showcasing the various Olympic events, the opening ceremony, or the Olympics mascots
- Go for originality by taking more offbeat photos, or highlighting the hidden side of the Olympics (traffic jams in the host city, price hikes, tourists everywhere…)
If the photo contest seems too ordinary, you can also organize a meme contest. Guaranteed laughs!
8. Live screening
If your employees enjoy watching the Olympic Games, it can be interesting to organize live screenings in your offices. Create a poll to identify the events and highlights that interest them, and schedule sessions accordingly.
Certain time slots such as lunch break or late afternoon are particularly suitable for this type of activity. However, make sure to organize your screenings in a separate room (with a TV), so as not to disturb those who want to work in peace.
9. Relaxation sessions
The Olympic Games period can be a source of stress for your employees, especially those who live in or near the host city. So why not organize relaxation sessions to help them unwind? These can be held in your offices, or remotely via a video conferencing tool.
Relaxation sessions can be led by an employee, an external provider, or even a YouTube video (yes, there are plenty of them, just search). Grab a yoga mat and a computer to follow the session, and you're ready for a relaxing moment.
Read also: 21 team building activities for your remote teams
10. The sports conference
One last activity that may interest you for the Olympic Games is the sports conference. Just like the relaxation session, it can be organized on-site or remotely.
The concept is simple: you invite one or more athletes to speak at a dedicated conference. They can share their journey, the challenges they faced, the lessons they learned, and connect these experiences to the business world. It's a great way to inspire and motivate your employees, especially those who enjoy sports.
Adapting these activities to the Winter Games
The Winter Games call for exactly the same activities, with different disciplines to transpose. Three ideas to replay them in a winter version:
- Office curling. Weighted cups pushed towards a target drawn on the floor, in teams of two. It is the indoor variant of the eisstock mentioned above.
- Indoor biathlon. A timed course, followed by the ball-throwing contest described in the office Olympics. The penalty: one extra lap per missed ball.
- The winter disciplines quiz. Luge, skeleton, ski jumping, curling, nordic combined: the quiz format stays the same, only the questions change.
The same logic applies to the other highlights of the year. Read also: 7 ideas to strengthen your hybrid teams' cohesion during the holiday season
Which activity should you choose?
These ten activities do not call for the same space, the same equipment or the same presence on site. The table below sorts them by constraint, so you can quickly spot the one that fits your organization. One reminder: a successful activity owes less to its scale than to the place team building holds in your everyday team life.
| Your constraint | Activities to favour | What the activity needs |
|---|---|---|
| Your constraintTeams spread across sites or working remotely | Activities to favourThe connected challenge, the predictions contest, the relaxation sessions, the sports conference | What the activity needsThe challenge runs anywhere through a mobile app, the contest is announced on the internal social network, relaxation and conference are held over video conferencing |
| Your constraintLittle equipment, little space | Activities to favourThe Olympic special quiz, the unusual sports quiz, the photo or meme contest | What the activity needsBuzzers, a scoreboard and a few questions matched to your employees' knowledge level |
| Your constraintRoom to move, indoors or outdoors | Activities to favourThe office Olympics: relay race, tug of war, ball throwing, treasure hunt, building challenge | What the activity needsA course, a rope, paper baskets or building materials (Lego, wooden sticks, straws) |
| Your constraintA dedicated room | Activities to favourThe e-sports tournament, the live screening | What the activity needsA room with one or more gaming consoles for the first, a separate room with a TV for the second |
In conclusion
With these 10 activities, one thing is certain: you're all set for the next edition of the Olympic Games! Of course, the goal isn't to organize a ton of activities either. Rather, choose one or two that match your employees' interests, communicate about them as much as possible, and reward the most engaged participants.
Enterprise social network solutions like Talkspirit can be a key asset for organizing and highlighting these various activities. So don't hesitate to use them to engage your teams throughout the Games!
PS: discover in this practical guide how 10 of our clients use Talkspirit to animate and engage their communities 👇
Access the Practical Guide
In our practical guide "10 initiatives from our clients to engage their communities", you'll discover: 10 examples of organizations using Talkspirit to animate their communities, as well as tips and tricks to unite all your members and develop their engagement.
FAQ
To use the event to boost team cohesion and employee engagement. The opportunity is there, so it may as well be used: the activities on offer range from very sporty to not sporty at all, and several of them work for remote employees.
Mini-competitions that both create bonds and bring fun to the company. The relay race is the textbook example: it can be run in the offices or outdoors, with each team covering a distance as fast as possible while passing an object along the way.
The connected challenge. Its advantage is that it can be done anywhere, which makes it a good option for companies with employees across several sites or working remotely. It runs individually or as a team, usually through a mobile app that tracks everyone's progress.
By taking a TV quiz show format and adding one twist: ask only questions about the Olympic Games. All you need is buzzers, a scoreboard and questions matched to the participants' knowledge level.
A quiz devoted to the disciplines that really did appear at the Olympics before disappearing: pigeon shooting, standing high jump, ski dancing, swimming obstacle race and eisstock, also known as ice pétanque.
By keeping the formats and changing the disciplines. Office curling replaces the throwing events, an indoor biathlon combines a timed course with the ball-throwing contest, and the quiz simply swaps its questions for winter disciplines: luge, skeleton, ski jumping, curling, nordic combined.
