At Milano Cortina 2026, Samsung expands its “Victory Selfie” concept, turning a once-private medal moment into a digitally shared ritual that blends sport, identity and global connection.
Samsung Electronics is bringing back its “Victory Selfie” initiative at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, extending a practice that began at Paris 2024. The idea is simple: after receiving their medals, athletes use a Samsung smartphone to capture their own image on the podium, transforming a ceremonial instant into a personal keepsake.
The gesture may seem modest, yet it reflects how the Olympics have evolved in a digital era. Medal ceremonies once unfolded as formal, carefully choreographed events framed by official photographers. By handing athletes the device, Samsung shifts part of the narrative control to the competitors themselves, allowing them to record the moment as they see it.
At Milano Cortina, the program will use the Galaxy Z Flip7 Olympic Edition and expand beyond individual or paired athletes to include full teams. That adjustment acknowledges the collective nature of many winter sports, where victories are often shared across relay squads and hockey lines. In this setting, the selfie becomes less about a singular champion and more about a group that has trained and competed together.
Nearly 300 such images were captured during the Paris Games, signaling that the practice resonated with athletes. The images circulated instantly, reaching families and followers worldwide, and subtly reframed the podium as both a sporting and cultural stage. In an age when athletes cultivate direct relationships with fans through social platforms, the official ceremony now doubles as a moment of self-expression.
Samsung has been a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner for more than 25 years, primarily in wireless communications. Its involvement at the Games consistently highlights how technology shapes not only how audiences watch events but how participants experience them. The “Victory Selfie” illustrates a broader shift: even the most tradition-bound rituals of global sport are being reimagined through the lens of connectivity and personal storytelling.
