"It is going to be a fight in the coming years for sure," veteran journalist and athletics promoter Wilfried Meert told insidethegames.

"The TV production is better and better every year, and in theory, watching from home is better but of course you miss the atmosphere.

"But many people are hesitating to be part of a big crowd, they still don’t trust it completely with all these variants," Meerts warned.

"For organisers the biggest challenge is going to be to get added value in the stadium, so that people think, it is nice on TV, but you still have to be there in the stadium."

Experts are visiting Britain, the United States and Japan as part of a wider trade mission from Belgium in 2022 led by Princess Astrid.

The Agoria Sports & Entertainment Technology Club was pioneered by the late International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

"It was the inspiration of Rogge, who had the ambition of connecting sport and technology to create some sort of cross-fertilisation, to promote Belgian savoir faire in sports technology," said Nicolas Bourdon of EVS, which specialises in sports replays and video editing.

It is one of 100 companies which are members of the sports technology club in Belgium.

Other companies include those in sports hospitality and even specialists in the analysis of the playing surface.

Bourdon explained how his company deployed artificial intelligence and virtual reality during the pandemic to enhance coverage.

"When you come to tough times like COVID, technology specialists have a role to play to reinforce the visibility of the sport, giving them the experience of being in the stadium," Bourdon said.

"We have seen during the pandemic for events without public, there has been a trigger for new technologies.

"We worked so hard on the viewer experience we are now having to work hard to entice them back when the stadium re-opens," he admitted.