BBC’s fierce ‘winter is coming’ Olympics key art is quite the spectacle

BBC Sport’s dramatic key art for its coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics certainly does a good job of projecting an intense, wintery feel — though perhaps it’s a bit too “Avengers” slash “winter is coming” then “get ready to cheer on your favorite athletes!”

The art, which is based on photography by Nick Eagle, depicts six of the network’s sports presenters “assembled” in wintery attire that’s heavy on boots, fur and other toasty items.

A composite detail of BBC Sports’ 2022 Winter Olympics key art created by NewscastStudio.

The image appears to be heavily edited to give the people smooth, almost ethereal appearances — an effect that’s compounded further by the fact they appear to be floating above icy water.

Other elements include misty puffs, dramatic backlighting and a reflection on the ceiling as well, almost as if the presenters are suspended inside of some type of ice cube or box.

Subtle details include bits of snow and ice sprinkled on talents’ hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and clothing. 

Because of this, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to HBO’s “Game of Thrones” series that popularized the “winter is coming” tagline and a slew of looks used in the superhero genre.

The expressions and poses on the talents’ faces also aren’t your typical “news anchor” looks — instead they seem to be somewhere between “I’m lost” and “what’s that’s over there?” and “I’m not quite sure what I’m doing here” and “this is scary.”

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BBC is not the primary Olympics rights holding broadcaster for the United Kingdom. Those rights were acquired by Eurosport in a deal that covers much of Europe, but the BBC has an agreement to sub-license select coverage in Britain, both on its traditional free networks and on digital platforms.

BBC will carry a total of about 300 hours of coverage.

Hazel Irvine, Jeanette Kwakye, Ayo Akinwolere and J.J. Chalmers are all slated to appear during coverage with Clare Balding anchoring a daily highlights show. The network has also recruited accomplished British Olympian Lizzy Yarnold as part of its on-air team.

BBC’s coverage will again originate from the United Kingdom using a virtual set, similar to its coverage of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.