Philip Barker
Has written and broadcast on sport and the Olympic movement for the last 36 years.
Began his career on the launch team for the internationally syndicated television programme
Trans World Sport and subsequently worked for Eurosport, Sky Sports and ITV.
He is currently a freelance contributor for the “insidethegames” website where he contributes a
regular column on Olympic history and has also written for other publications.
First attended the International Olympic Academy(IOA) in 1983 as a young participant whilst still
at University.
Worked as a volunteer promoting the IOA in the Athletes' Village during the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics.
Carried the Olympic Flame in 1996 on Greek soil and London in 2012 2012.
He has covered the Torch Relay extensively as a journalist and wrote “The Story of the Olympic
Torch”, a brief history, before the London 2012 Olympics.
He also compiled and published a short summary of IOC Sessions in Britain.
His article on cricket’s Olympic connections appeared in the 2012 edition of Wisden Cricketers’
Almanack to mark the occasion when Lord’s Cricket Ground hosted Olympic archery
competitions.
He has reported every Olympics since 1996 and also Youth Olympic Games from their inception
in 2010.
He was also a member of the Eurosport commentary team on IOC host city votes in 2005 and
2009 and also helped describe the Lighting, Handover and other Ceremonies for the BBC in
2012.
He reported the 2006 Asian Games, 2018 Mediterranean Games and 2019 ANOC Beach
Games and also the last IOC Congress in 2009.
A member of the International Society of Olympic Historians since 1992, he was appointed
Honorary Editor of the Journal of Olympic History in 2022.
Has been Hon.Secretary of the Sports Journalists Association (SJA) of Great Britain since 2020
and had previously been a member of the SJA Committee since 2004.
