Paris 2024 Olympic Games: 8,500 euros for the opening, Games packages at 20,000 euros… these luxury offers which are struggling to sell

Privatized decks for the opening ceremony and exceptional offers on barges will be reserved for high-end customers. MAXPPP – Stéphanie Para

Privatized bridges over the Seine for the opening ceremony, high-end offers in emblematic places like the Eiffel Tower or the Palais de Tokyo… hellip; Specialized companies do not lack imagination but these overpriced packs are slow to find buyers.

Attend the opening ceremony on a private deck or watch the sailing events from a boat: the high-end offers of the Olympic Games are not yet full, according to the ;rsquo;agency that markets them, pointing to a phenomenon of last minute reservations.

"This is a great specificity of the Olympic Games, linked to the fact that the qualifications of athletes and teams are very late and reinforced by a trend of background that we observe more and more in many tourist activities: last minute purchasing, indicates Fabrice Favetto Bon, general director of the On Location agency for France, who admits to having been "surprised" by the scale of the phenomenon.

"Largest program ever released for the Olympics"

This subsidiary of the American entertainment giant Endeavor specializing in hospitality offers (VIP packages combining tickets to an event, access to a private lounge, hotel…) was chosen in 2021 by the IOC to be the official supplier of packages in Paris, Milan and Los Angeles.

"We have designed the largest hospitality program ever marketed for the Olympics", assures the manager of On Location, who presented its various offers on Tuesday in Paris, particularly gastronomic, in the presence of around forty chefs including the two-star Stéphanie Le Quellec. Luxurious offerings, in privatized emblematic places: barges on the Seine, the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, the House of Latin America, the Palais de Tokyo…

Late request

However, at the end of 2023, by presenting their updated budget, the organizers of the Paris Olympics revised downwards  hospitality  revenues by 20  million euros ;quot; and "licenses", judged "ambitious" in previous budgets. "Demand is strong but late",Fabrice Favetto Bon defends himself, explaining that the Games organizing committee (Cojo), "as a good father, preferred to reduce the variable portion of the income paid to them. But we will meet our commitments on the revenues which were guaranteed in the Paris 2024 budget, he assures.

7 000 packages for 1.42 billion euros in anticipated ticketing revenue

According to a document cited by L’Équipe, the minimum guaranteed contribution from hospitality companies amounts to 230 million dollars (215 million’euros). Without wanting to give figures, the manager indicates that he initially purchased 750,000 tickets for the Olympics:"Every day we acquire additional tickets when we think there is demand and we also give them back", some events being more popular than others. It’s the opening ceremony that is receiving the most excitement: "We have already sold more than 7 000 packages for the opening ceremony. Demand is very strong for exceptional products", with two privatized bridges, the Pont de l’Alma and the Pont de la Concorde, which are sold out at 8& ;nbsp;500 euros excluding tax per person, details the manager.

Also read: Discover the completely indecent average price of a hotel night in Paris during the 2024 Olympics

Its customers come from 120 countries, and if the French are the most numerous, those who have spent the most are the Americans, followed by the British. An individual clientele but also businesses, SMEs and CAC 40 companies. But many invitations sent by companies to their clients remain unanswered for the moment, the manager of a Parisian palace recently confided.

The Sapin law against corruption slows down sales

The so-called Sapin 2 law of 2016, aimed at fighting corruption, limits the possibility of large companies responding to invitations, which could explain why this clientele is less present. Another factor that could play a role in the slow takeoff of high-end offers: their prices, with packages costing more than 20,000 euros.

"We create exceptional experiences for an exceptional clientele but we also have entry-level options at 85’ nbsp;euros excluding tax. We are addressing an extremely broad audience", replies Fabrice Favetto Bon. "I’have worked in football long enough to know that as long as the game is not over and the referee has not whistled the end of the match, it is too early to know the result!", he slips. For the last release of tickets last week, On Location recorded its biggest day of sales, he assures.