An online home for former Olympians worldwide

Last Friday the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics began. While opening ceremonies took place at various locations in northern Italy, somewhere on the internet a remarkable place opened its doors. Not a physical building, but the digital version of OLY House: the exclusive meeting place for Olympians during the Games. This is e-OLY House. In this piece we explain why meeting online can be so much more than a square on your screen.

Once an Olympian, always an Olympian

Anyone who has competed at the Olympic Games stays an Olympian for life. That shared experience connects people, across countries and generations. But how do you keep that connection alive when you're scattered across the world?

The World Olympians Association, the alumni body for Olympians worldwide, was looking for a way to connect its athletes, including those who can't travel to the Games. Work, distance, money: there are plenty of reasons to stay home. But staying home doesn't have to mean missing out.

So MeetingMasters Online built e-OLY House together with the WOA. Not a webinar where you stare at a screen. Not a video call with two hundred little squares. A place where you walk around, run into people and fall into conversation.

Why the WOA didn't choose a video call

A video call is handy for a meeting. But as a place to gather during the Games? There it falls short.

At a physical OLY House you walk in, look around and see familiar faces. You join a group, catch a conversation, start talking to someone you hadn't met. Those chance encounters are what make it worthwhile.

In a standard video call those moments don't exist. You're speaking or you're silent. There's no room to look around, no way to walk over to someone. The WOA wanted something closer to the real experience.

Three pillars under e-OLY House

e-OLY House works differently from a video call. It's built on three pillars.

1. A central place to come together

When you enter e-OLY House, you're standing on top of a mountain. In front of you is a ski lodge, with the Italian flag and snow-covered peaks behind it. You see people moving, groups forming, conversations starting. From here you can navigate to other spaces, or simply linger and see who is around. In an ordinary video call you're put in a box. Here you choose your own spot.

2. Gatherings that go beyond broadcasting

During the Games, e-OLY House runs "OLY@8" every day: a show by Olympians, for Olympians. Every morning at eight and every evening at eight. In the morning show a host and a guest Olympian talk about what they're looking forward to that day. In the evening show they look back on it.

But the real conversation only starts afterwards. After the show everyone moves through to the lounge. There you talk it over in small groups, with no moderator and no agenda. Exactly as you'd linger after an event.

3. Room for chance encounters

The best thing about e-OLY House shows itself when nothing is scheduled. During the Paris Summer Games in 2024, Olympians sat down together in e-OLY House of their own accord to watch events. A group gathered around the swimming, and an Olympic swimmer gave live commentary for the others. Not because it was on the programme, but because it was possible.

That's what a meeting place does. It offers room for people to be, without anything having to happen. Real connection grows where there's room for chance and spontaneity.

e-OLY House is open for the whole of the Games. Afterwards the clubhouse stays on for regular gatherings and community events. The party tent becomes a canteen, the social space becomes a place to work, and the OLY@8 stage becomes a platform for webinars.

What does this mean for your organisation?

e-OLY House was built for Olympians. But the principles behind it apply to any organisation that wants to connect people at a distance.

Not everyone sits in the same place every day. Whether you have teams across locations, colleagues who often work from home, or volunteers you rarely see in person: the question isn't whether you meet online, but how.

A video call is a tool. An online meeting place is something else. Part of the difference is the technology, of course, but mostly it's in how you bring purpose, form and experience together.

Curious?

Would you like to see what an online environment like this looks and feels like, for an event, a place to work together or a gathering that matters? Get in touch for a demo. We'd be glad to show you what is possible. Because meeting online can be so much more than a square on your screen.