SNL Weekend Update Co-Anchor Will Report Live from Teahupo’o, Tahiti – Home of Only the Second-Ever Olympic Surfing Competition
Paris Olympic Surfing Will Begin Saturday, July 27 at 12:15 a.m. ET on Peaco*ck
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 26, 2024 – Saturday Night Live performer/writer and New York Times best-selling author Colin Jost will cover the surfing competition from Teahupo’o, Tahiti, part of French Polynesia, for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, it was announced today. This will only be the second-ever Olympic surfing competition after the sport debuted during the Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021 and will take place nearly 10,000 miles away from the center of Olympic action in Paris.
Jost will travel to Tahiti in advance of the competition, which begins on July 27, where he will preview the waves and interview athletes.
“Colin Jost hit the NBC Sports jackpot with an epic assignment covering surfing in Tahiti for the Paris Olympics,” says Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC Olympics. “Although the setting is a little different than the Weekend Update desk in Studio 8H, Colin, an avid surfer, is going to bring his unique flair to reporting on the competition, athletes, and beautiful surroundings in one of the most breathtaking Olympic venues ever. Tune in to see if he catches a wave for America.”
“I’m honored to get to watch the best surfers in the world compete on one of the heaviest waves imaginable, and to help showcase the rich history of surfing in Tahiti,” said Jost. “And my Writer’s Guild Health Insurance is excited to see what the coral reef does to my back.”
Jost’s role will complement NBCU’s traditional surfing coverage that will feature Joe Turpel handling play-by-play and Michael Parsons as analyst.
The Paris Olympic surfing competition will take place over four days within a 10-day window from July 27-August 5 due to possible weather delays which are common for the sport. The competition will feature both a men’s and women’s shortboard event, with 24 surfers from each gender competing for the three coveted Olympic podium spots. The United States’ Carissa Moore, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and five-time World Surf League Women’s World Tour Champion, aims to defend her Olympic title.
Tahiti is a legendary surfing location and has become a world-renowned spot for surfers due to its breathtaking waves and beaches. For over two decades, Teahupo’o has hosted the Pro Tahiti world championship event, establishing itself as a stalwart of the men’s championship tour, and where icons of the sport such as Kelly Slater, Gabriel Medina, and Mark Occhilupo have competed.
Jost has been co-anchor of SNL’s Weekend Update since 2014 and has been a writer on the show since 2005, serving as a head writer for a combined eight years (2012-2015, 2017-2022). Jost has been nominated for 14 Emmy Awards and has won multiple Writers Guild of America Awards, as well as two Peabody Awards.
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In Paris this summer, the world’s greatest athletes will compete against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world where the modern Olympic Games were conceived 130 years ago. This will be the third time Paris has hosted the Olympics (1900 and 1924), tying London for the most as a Summer Games host. Los Angeles (1932, 1984) will tie those two cities when it hosts the first Summer Games in the U.S. in 32 years in 2028.
The organizers of Paris 2024 are reimagining the Games to make them more accessible to the public and to showcase their city to the world. In a first, competitions will be held amidst iconic Parisian landmarks – beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, equestrian at the Palace of Versailles and urban sports at Place de la Concorde.
The NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peaco*ck will be the company’s primary platforms for its coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11, 2024. Click here for more linear programming information and here for more about the Olympic experience on Peaco*ck.
NBCU owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, which are scheduled for Paris (2024), Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). The host city for the 2030 Olympic Winter Games has not yet been chosen.
About NBCUniversal
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--PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES--
