The three shots were given this Thursday, June 6, 2013 for the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games. 443 days before the start of the event, the organizers launched the ticketing operation with great fanfare. At stake are 406 places for the major sporting event in France next year, a sort of giant world championship where eight official disciplines and two demonstration events will coexist, all under the banner of equestrian sports.
In detail, the sale of tickets will be done in three stages. The first phase, from June 6 to November 17, 2013, is aimed at licensees, via equestrian centers; to partners and foreign federations. It concerns around 25 passes, for a total of 000 tickets. The second phase, running from November 70, 000 to March 18, 2013, will be open to the general public, French and foreign. Finally, the last sales period, from the beginning of April 31, is the only one where single tickets will be offered.
Objective of the organizing committee: to raise revenue of 7 million euros, out of a total budget for WEG 2014 announced at 33,5 million euros. The average price of a pass for competitions has been set at 25 euros, significantly less than during the previous edition of the World Equestrian Games, held in 2010 in Lexington, United States.
Big news: the ticket office will be open via Facebook. A first in Europe. The Chicago Bulls, in the NBA, and the Israeli Football Federation have already used this social link. With some success, according to the French organizers. It will also be possible for buyers to complete all of their purchases (tickets, derivative products, etc.) in a single transaction, on the event's official website.
Determined to open the WEG 2014 to a wide audience, whether licensed or not, the organizing committee has imagined an original and diversified package formula, the “passes”:
Sports pass: they combine several sessions of the same discipline. Intended primarily for licensees and equestrian fans, they allow you to follow the entire competition in one or other of the eight disciplines (show jumping, eventing, reining, dressage, etc.);
Full sports pass: valid for several days, they allow you to follow an entire competition in the same discipline;
Discovery pass: they offer the possibility of discovering several disciplines during the same day.
Sensation Pass: true “best of” World Equestrian Games, reserved for weekends, they combine several disciplines, guaranteeing at least one final.
The 2014 World Equestrian Games will take place from August 23 to September 7 in Normandy. They should bring together a thousand competitors and as many horses, 1200 journalists and 500 spectators.
