[Source: Citec] The end of 2022 marks the coming together of two key players in the organization of major events. Playground, specialist in the design, planning and operational coordination of sporting events, joins Citec, transport engineering consultancy group, particularly involved in 2024/2026 Olympic Games, 2018 and 2022 Football World Cup, or the European Football Championships since 2008.
Playground is involved in many major events in France such as the 2019 Women’s Football World Cup, Roland-Garros, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Torch Relay of Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, and produces its own events such as La Grande Course du Grand Paris, the Montpellier marathon and the Boulogne-Billancourt half-marathon via its General Public Events division.
What are the benefits of this merger for Citec/Playground customers?
Citec and Playground successfully operated on joint projects in the past already, as the Ryder Cup in 2018, among the most participated events worldwide. Both companies now share the same ambition “To globally support event organizers, by offering a complete set of services, from planning to operations” explains Franco Tufo, CEO and founder of the Citec group. This merger enlarges the range of both players’ expertise, so that their client who will now benefit from recognized skills in the areas of accommodation, food&beverage and transport, for the organization of major events.
Continuity, trust, growth
This merger will allow the two companies to develop common and unique offers for organizers of major events, from strategy to the delivery of operations. Citec group will also provide the necessary support to Playground to continue its growth in a serene way, by giving it access to the financial, commercial, and administrative resources of a sustainable human-scale group.
The current management team as well as all of Playground’s employees are not only maintained but reinforced, with the recruitment of new employees to support the requests which have already confirmed the interest in a complete service. Stefano Manelli, Citec Large Events Manager and Franco Tufo, Citec CEO will be the go-between with the Citec group.
“Since the beginning of our collaboration and exchanges, our vision of the future of major sporting events and the human and professional values that drive us have always been in perfect harmony. This merger marks a major turning point in the history of Playground, and we are convinced that this new adventure will be beneficial to all players in the sports movement, in particular our clients, partners and our teams”, adds Yoann Arzur, Playground Managing Director.
After the acquisition of Interface Transport, firm specialized in logistics, in 2018, and shares in IMDM, expert in asset management, in 2021, Citec completes its range of services and continues its growth dynamic in 2022.
About Citec
Founded in 1994, Citec is an independent group of engineers and consultants specialized in the planning, management, development, and regulation of transport. The design of mobility systems for large events is at the heart of Citec activity, with more than 30 major events organized in 15 countries to its credit. Based in Switzerland, the group has a hundred employees in 9 agencies in Switzerland, France, and Italy. The group, 100% owned by its employees, achieved a turnover of CHF 14 million in 2021.
www.citec.ch
About Playground
Playground is an event engineering company supporting organizers in the design, planning and operational coordination of their events, with recognized expertise in accommodation, transport, and catering. Founded in 2017, this company based in Paris and Bordeaux has more than 120 events to its credit.
www.playground-event.fr
Tag: Paris 2024
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Playground, the French Events Management Company, joins Citec, the Swiss Engineering Group
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Bach highlights esports in New Year’s Message of hope
From delivering Beijing 2022 during the pandemic to the ramifications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 2022 was a challenging year for the Olympic Movement – but according to President Bach, the IOC can nonetheless look ahead with “hope and optimism” in a year that includes qualifiers for Paris 2024, and the first Olympic Esports Week.
“The power of sport as a force for good in the world is widely acknowledged – and it is needed more than ever. Especially in a time when division and conflict is gaining ground over dialogue and cooperation – in a time, when, tragically, it is not people but the guns of war that are doing the talking,” said Bach in his New Year’s Message.
This year will highlight the achievements of athletes on the road to Paris 2024. “The Olympic Qualifier Season is ongoing and already now has generated over 100 million additional engagements across Olympic social media platforms – thereby promoting the athletes and their sports in new and exciting ways.
“Another highlight of how we are opening new horizons and reaching new audiences with our values will be the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in 2023. Held in Singapore next June, the Olympic Esports Week will be the next major step for us to engage even deeper with the young generation.”
Singapore also hosted the inaugural Global Esports Games in 2021 – an independent initiative of the Global Esports Federation.
“Thanks to the great preparation by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, we can look forward to Olympic Games of a new era: inspired by Olympic Agenda from start to finish. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be more inclusive, more youthful, more urban, more sustainable – and they will be the very first Olympic Games with full gender parity. And all of this in one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” said Bach.
“This positive momentum is something that we can carry into the new year. Our values, our solidarity, our unity, our peace-mission – all this makes our beloved Olympic Movement so unique. This is the solid foundation on which we can build our future – on which we can build a better and more peaceful world through sport.” -
2024 US Olympic trials host announced
[Source: US Sailing] US Sailing and Miami Yacht Club have agreed to co-host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials –Sailing. The 49er, Mixed 470, Men and Women’s IQ Foil, and Men’s and Women’s Formula Kite racing will be held Jan 6-13, 2024, while the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes will race Feb. 17-24, 2024. The racing will be held primarily on the Atlantic Ocean with course options on Biscayne Bay.
Tom Duggan, Principal Race Officer (PRO) for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, will serve as PRO for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Sailing. The Notices of Race for these events will be issued by Aug. 1, 2023.
“We are honored to have the Miami sailing community and, in particular, Miami Yacht Club’s patriotism and enthusiasm for supporting America’s top sailing athletes and their journey to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” said Paul Cayard, executive director of the US Sailing Team. “The U.S. Olympic Team Trials are a competition which will test boat speed, focus, mental strength, the ability to win races, and the ability to sail consistently over a series of races, all of which are required to succeed at the Olympic Games.”
The athlete selection procedures for the 2024 Olympic Games were drafted by US Sailing’s International Selection Committee, which includes nine U.S. Olympians and is chaired by Olympic silver and bronze medalist, JJ Fetter. The selection procedures were approved by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and initially published in July 2022, with subsequent amendments to reflect this 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials announcement.
For the Women’s Skiff (49er FX), late selection will be the combined results of the 2024 FX World Championships in Lanzarote, Spain from February 27 – March 3rd and the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, Spain from April 1 – 6th.
For the Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17), late selection will be the combined results of the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta and the 2024 Nacra 17 Europeans in La Grande-Motte, France from May 7 – 12th.
It should be noted that if an athlete/team both wins the qualification series for selection to the Olympic Test Event in Marseille in July 2023 and achieves a podium finish at that event, that athlete/team will qualify for Early Selection and be nominated as the representative(s) for Paris 2024, precluding a late selection regatta or regattas for that class.
Full Selection Procedures for the Paris 2024 Olympics can be found here
[Source: US Sailing] US Sailing and Miami Yacht Club have agreed to co-host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials –Sailing. The 49er, Mixed 470, Men and Women’s IQ Foil, and Men’s and Women’s Formula Kite racing will be held Jan 6-13, 2024, while the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes will race Feb. 17-24, 2024. The racing will be held primarily on the Atlantic Ocean with course options on Biscayne Bay.
Tom Duggan, Principal Race Officer (PRO) for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, will serve as PRO for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Sailing. The Notices of Race for these events will be issued by Aug. 1, 2023.
“We are honored to have the Miami sailing community and, in particular, Miami Yacht Club’s patriotism and enthusiasm for supporting America’s top sailing athletes and their journey to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” said Paul Cayard, executive director of the US Sailing Team. “The U.S. Olympic Team Trials are a competition which will test boat speed, focus, mental strength, the ability to win races, and the ability to sail consistently over a series of races, all of which are required to succeed at the Olympic Games.”
The athlete selection procedures for the 2024 Olympic Games were drafted by US Sailing’s International Selection Committee, which includes nine U.S. Olympians and is chaired by Olympic silver and bronze medalist, JJ Fetter. The selection procedures were approved by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and initially published in July 2022, with subsequent amendments to reflect this 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials announcement.
For the Women’s Skiff (49er FX), late selection will be the combined results of the 2024 FX World Championships in Lanzarote, Spain from February 27 – March 3rd and the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta in Palma, Spain from April 1 – 6th.
For the Mixed Multihull (Nacra 17), late selection will be the combined results of the 2024 Princess Sofia Regatta and the 2024 Nacra 17 Europeans in La Grande-Motte, France from May 7 – 12th.
It should be noted that if an athlete/team both wins the qualification series for selection to the Olympic Test Event in Marseille in July 2023 and achieves a podium finish at that event, that athlete/team will qualify for Early Selection and be nominated as the representative(s) for Paris 2024, precluding a late selection regatta or regattas for that class.
Full Selection Procedures for the Paris 2024 Olympics can be found here
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Paris 2024: the digital twins being used to plan the next Olympic and Paralympic Games
[Source: OnePlan] The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a major event like no other, powered by innovation. For the organising committee and its stakeholders, this includes how the planning of the Games is being done, including operations, security, transport, workforce management and so much more.
OnePlan is the Official Supporter of GIS Mapping and Digital Twin Software for Paris 2024, and our award-winning software is being used to plan the Games. It includes a 3D digital twin view, Venue Twin, that any user at Paris 2024 and its stakeholders can access to provide life-like visualisations of how the venues will look – simply accessible via a web browser.
Our digital twin solution leverages some of the latest computing and processor technologies of Intel, worldwide partner of the Olympic Games. Read on and watch below how venues in central Paris are being transformed virtually by organisers of Paris 2024 to streamline its operational planning.
Eiffel Tower Arena
The Eiffel Tower Arena will be a magical setting for the Beach Volleyball and Blind Football at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. With a capacity of 12,860 spectators, this temporary stadium will provide unique sporting moments during the Games.
As with all the temporary venues for Paris 2024, this venue currently only exists in Venue Twin. It gives the organising committee and their stakeholders a hyper-realistic way to plan and visualise all aspects of the operational plan for this arena, including security, transport, crowd management, workforce planning, and more.
The 3D digital twins wins we’re creating with Paris 2024 are fully interoperable with the 2D map views in the same system. When a plan is changed, however big or small that change, it’s instantly shown in the 3D view. This gives organisers hands-on access to real-time plans for every venue so they can plan collaboratively with whoever needs access.
La Concorde
Place de la Concorde is being transformed for Paris 2024 into an open arena to host urban sports in their natural environment at the heart of the city. Temporary venues will host Skateboarding, Breaking, BMX Freestyle and 3×3 Basketball, with these spectacular sports taking place virtually non-stop for the duration of the Olympic Games.
In planning Concorde, organisers have to take into account a myriad of factors to ensure the events are safe and successful. This includes how the existing city infrastructure needs to change to accommodate these temporary venues, security scenario planning, traffic management, workforce positioning and responsibilities, fan experience, optimizing for peak sporting conditions and so much more.
This is all being visualized in our state-of-the-art Venue Twin software, which can be viewed by any stakeholder any time, from anywhere. It’s reducing the time and costs of planning the next Games, thanks to our powerful cloud-based solution that’s easy for anyone to use.
Invalides
The Esplanade des Invalides is one of Paris’ preferred leisure destinations where locals and tourists enjoy sport, music and walking. For the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it’s being transformed into a show-stopping venue for Archery, Para-Archery and other sports.
The Invalides Venue Twin that we’ve created with Paris 2024 shows how event organisers are planning with temporary infrastructure on existing city environments. The centimetre-accurate placement of crowd infrastructure includes how fans with additional access needs will be able to easily access the venue and have excellent views of the action.
When planning operations at Invalides using the Venue Twin visualisations, organisers are able to view how the venue will look at different times of day and in different weather conditions. This is an innovative way in which the Paris 2024 organising committee is able to plan the Games with multiple scenarios in mind, and plan for any potential scenario. -
2024, 2026 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committees confirmed for Host City 2023
Senior leaders of the organising committees of the next three Olympic Games have confirmed to speak at Host City 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland on 20-21 November.
Taking place with the support of Global Presenting Partners and Hosts Glasgow Life and EventScotland, this year’s event brings major event owners, organisers and hosts from all over the world together at the Technology and Innovation Centre around the conference theme of Driving and Reacting to Change.
And this year, senior figures from the LA28, Milano Cortina 2026 and Paris 2024 Organising Committees of the Olympic and Paralympic Games are among the confirmed speakers.
Hilary Ash, Vice President, Games Delivery & Infrastructure, LA28 will give a Fireside Chat on what’s next for the LA 28 Olympics. She will share a unique overview of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games vision and mission; sport parks concept and use of existing venues and Games Plan including sports programme and venue mapping.
Ash is instrumental to LA28’s technical operations and Games delivery planning, specifically for the sport and venue masterplan and budget considerations. She led the development of the bid books. She was a 2019 Recipient of the Sports Business Journal New Voices Under 30 Award. Previous roles included and producing ESPN X Games and the Rose Bowl Game.
Giulio Alessandrini, Head of Venues & Infrastructure, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is speaking at Host City on the panel Changing Venue Requirements. He has a wide knowledge of the sport industry infrastructures, including venue design, procurement and commercial strategies, site management and events delivery.
Previously, Giulio was Senior Technical Services and Overlay Manager at FIFA, where he headed the planning, scoping and implementation of all overlay infrastructures across a number of FIFA tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 and several others. Before that he worked within several Organising Committees including Baku 2015 European Games, Gold Coast 2018 and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and delivered overlay at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Carole Colin Kjaer, Digital, CRM and Data Director at Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing and digital in the sports and consumer goods sectors. She has spent more than 12 years at the Carlsberg Group before joining Paris 2024, where she was in charge of sports sponsorship including Euro 2016.
Other speakers at Host City 2023 include Petra Sörling, IOC Member and President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF); Vlad Marinescu, Director General, International Judo Federation and President, International Esports Federation; Jimena Saldaña, CEO / Secretary General, PanamSports Organization; Abi Ijasanmi, COO, CAF; John Langford, COO, AEG Europe; Jana Ebert, Conference Manager, European Society of Human Genetics; Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society; Susan Deighan, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life; Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events, VisitScotland and many more leading figures from the owners, organisers and hosts of the world’s greatest sports, business and cultural events.
Host City taking place at the Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow, Scotland on 20-21 November with the support of Global Presenting Partners and Hosts Glasgow Life and EventScotland.
For speaking and hosted buyer opportunities, contact ben.avison@hostcity.com. For sponsorship, exhibition and commercial enquiries contact adam.soroka@bric.com -
“A host city that will deliver a world-class experience”
Host City: What do you think are the main considerations for rightsholders deciding where to host events?
Jason Siegel: While this could vary by rightsholder, for the most part, they are looking for a host city that will deliver a world-class experience for their constituents, athletes, officials, and partners and a city that will drive desired net revenue back to the rightsholder.
Using Orlando as an example, our tourism ecosystem seamlessly works together – hoteliers, restauranteurs, elected officials, transportation providers, and attraction operators all work closely to ensure a smooth and successful event for all stakeholders. This strong working relationship is reflected in the 74 million visitors who enjoyed Orlando in 2022 alone, a testament to our city’s ability to deliver.
When it comes to infrastructure, Orlando boasts an impressive 35+ sports venues across the region, ensuring flexibility and adaptability to your specific needs. With over 200,000 hotel rooms, timeshares, and vacation rentals, we can easily accommodate athletes, officials, and fans.
Ultimately, while rightsholders seek world-class experiences and revenue generation, they also value a collaborative and engaging environment. With its proven track record of hosting major events, experienced local organizing committee, and collaborative community spirit, Orlando stands out as the ideal choice to deliver on all fronts.
Host City: Why did Orlando want to host the US Olympic Trials for Marathon?
Jason Siegel: The opportunity to host an Olympic qualifying event fit perfectly in our strategic plan and aligns with our goal of bringing world-class sporting events to Orlando.
We also wanted to shine a spotlight on Downtown Orlando and boost the local economy. We are very proud of our incredible community here, and our economic impact so far has been tremendous. We also were confident in the return on investment the event would bring and the media value of hosting a nationally televised event.
We were thrilled that the event drew over 100,000 spectators. With the robust running community here in Orlando, we knew this event would be well-received not only by fans of the sport but by everyone.
Host City: What are Orlando’s wider event hosting ambitions?
Jason Siegel: From Premier League clashes like Aston Villa vs Fulham and international giants like Juventus and Real Madrid facing off in the Florida Cup to the electrifying spectacle of WrestleMania and the inspirational 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, Orlando has a proven track record of hosting major sporting events. We’ve also welcomed the pinnacle of wakeboarding and waterskiing with the IWWF World Championships in 2021 and 2023. These, alongside over 1,600 other events since 1993, demonstrate our commitment to driving economic impact, showcasing Orlando’s vibrancy, and benefiting our residents and businesses.
With our elite venues and facilities, coupled with the entertainment powerhouses of Disney and Universal, Orlando offers an iconic backdrop for world-class events. We enjoy strong partnerships with local government and are passionate about collaborating with all stakeholders to bring even more exciting sporting experiences to our city, encompassing youth/amateur, Olympic, collegiate, international, esports, and everything in between.
Host City: How will you look to capitalise on the 2026 FIFA World Cup and LA28?
Jason Siegel: We have a longstanding relationship with FIFA and the USOPC, and both organizations know they can always count on Orlando to deliver exceptional results.