Ah, mes amis! Get ready to put on your berets and embrace the chaos because booking and attending the Paris ’24 Olympics is a bit like participating in an Olympic event yourself. The logistical challenges will be unique, but the experience will surely be worth it. Let’s explore how to plan the best Olympic Attendee experience for your HNW/UHNW principal.
What Makes the Paris ’24 Games Different (and More Challenging)?
The Games will be spread across multiple cities. Unlike past Olympics, the Paris Games will not happen in one convenient Olympic Village. The Paris Olympics will take a tour of France! From basketball in Lille to football in Lyon and even surfing in Tahiti, you’ll need GPS to keep up with your favorite sports. At least ten cities will participate in the Games, and fans must know where their events are taking place BEFORE they book.
A once-in-a-lifetime Opening Ceremony! This Opening Ceremony isn’t your usual stadium spectacle. It will be a 6-kilometer boat parade down the Seine River, culminating with the lighting of the torch in front of the Eiffel Tower. Crossing the Seine on the day of the Opening Ceremony will only be possible with the RIGHT ticket. Hotel accommodations should be booked on the same riverbank as their seats – and hotel options will be limited. These (and other) logistics will make or break a principal’s Opening Ceremony experience.
A dramatic differences between venue facilities. Many temporary venues are being built to host specific sports events. Temporary structures may lack top-quality (or any) hospitality facilities, such as private boxes or catering. A savvy ticket purchaser needs to be aware of the limitations of each venue. We don’t want any of your principals caught unaware at a venue without catering or restroom facilities!
Can’t I just buy tickets online? If you’ve already searched for Paris ’24 Olympics tickets online, you’ve likely noticed that you can’t find the sessions you want. Many people assume that the Olympics are sold out and that their dream tickets are unavailable. This is simply not true – almost every category of ticket in every event is still available! The tickets you see online are NOT part of the broader pool of hospitality tickets; they are offered from a limited supply owned by the host city organizing committee. Only specific tickets are shown for a given day, and these tickets DO NOT include any hospitality services. In short, online, you will only find seats. Those seats are not in boxes, do not include VIP hospitality services, and are only for a limited proportion of the events.
How can Select help me plan gold medal guest experiences?
First, what is Select’s Role in the Paris ’24 Olympics? Select Entertainment Limited is proud to announce that we have been chosen – among very few worldwide partners – to be an official ticket and hospitality Introducer for the Paris ’24 Games. In addition to offering bespoke Olympics packages, we have privately negotiated rates at the best five-star hotels and resorts through carefully curated relationships over many years. Combined with our culture, gastronomy, music, sports, and local artisan partners, we craft the most immersive and un-Googleable experiences for our clients. For us, the Olympics aren’t the only game in town, and we’ve been appointed as an Introducer for our connections and expertise!
Boots on the ground! Select Entertainment is comprised of a team of experienced hospitality and event professionals from the Olympics movement who know the Olympics product range inside and out – hotels, tickets, transportation, excursions, staffing, and more. We are based in Paris and are in constant contact with the P’24 organizers. We also know the hard-to-book restaurants, private shopping experiences, wineries, and beyond. Most importantly, we know the potential pitfalls of the upcoming Paris Olympics, from endless security lines and inclement weather contingencies to road closures and traffic headaches. Everyone wins when you take advantage of our expertise!
A new era of E-ticketing. Gone are the days of paper tickets! Paper tickets are easy to lose, easy to steal, and often re-appear on the gray or black market. Many unsuspecting buyers have learned the hard way that their ticket was fake. For the first time in history, the Olympic Games will distribute electronic tickets only, and each ticket will bear the name of the seat-holder. When you buy your tickets through Select, you can be assured you are purchasing 100% authorized, legitimate tickets. Further, Select will work with you until Game time to ensure you have the correct guest names allocated to every seat.
And there’s an App for that! In another first, tickets and venue information will all be stored in a guest-facing ticket application. As we all know, not all clients are tech-savvy, so Select will ensure that everyone is trained and familiar with the app or has established an alternative communication option before the Games begin.
We trimmed the fat out of package elements. If you find a ‘tailor-made’ Olympics package elsewhere, chances are strong that you’re paying for extra staff, unnecessary food & beverage costs, and excessive service charges. You’re likely also paying inflated prices on hotels and experiences such as wine tastings and museum tours from venues seeking to price-gouge Olympic guests. Select’s partnerships in Paris date back decades and are built on offering the absolute best pricing available.
We have the inside track on delivering the best value for money. We will save you time and ensure you purchase the best bespoke package for your principal. In addition, we have access to the most up-to-date inventory information so that you won’t miss out on anything.
Our team has access to a wide range of luxury hotels in Paris and all the Olympic venues. We will ensure you get the best deals available – even if hotels are currently blocked for corporate groups. Our lifestyle team will create superb experiential itineraries for international travelers covering every aspect of culture, gastronomy, and art. We can offer all concierge services, including reservations and transfers.
Are Select’s package services an additional expense? No! Our ticket and hospitality partners compensate Select Entertainment. Select’s pricing is completely transparent, as you’ll make all the bookings directly with our suppliers. This means you have complete control over your bookings and can ensure that every detail aligns perfectly with your principal’s needs and preferences. We don’t get involved in the sales process at all beyond helping to source the very best tickets and experiences. We help you to design the perfect package, and you buy directly from Paris ’24’s hospitality team, our hotels, and hospitality partners. All sales are 100% transparent, with no 3rd-party intervention, no mark-ups, and no additional fees.
Start Here! Download the Product Guide (PDF),
By Angelica Canales and Lisa Scholtes, Select Entertainment
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