The postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Games not only shortened the next Summer Olympics by a year. For French cities applying to host a foreign delegation before the Paris 2024 Games, the selection process is also delayed. However, the battle has already begun, in France, to become a Games Preparation Center (CPJ).
The candidates are numerous, the winners will be much fewer. How to make the difference ? What strategy should we adopt to convince the COJO Paris 2024, then a federation or a foreign country? Jérémie Botton, the general director of the Spartner agency, answered questions from FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux : Has the postponement of the Tokyo Games changed the timetable for the selection process of the Preparation Centers for the Paris 2024 Games?
Jérémy Botton : Yes a bit. The French government and the Paris 2024 COJO have decided not to wait for the Tokyo Games to be postponed to 2021 to announce the winning local authorities. Things should be done fairly quickly, it seems that the CPJs should soon become known. Expectations are high, because this status constitutes one of the main levers for all the territories which will not host events.
Among the selection criteria to become a CPJ, which are the most determining?
The federations are looking for sports equipment that meets the technical criteria of their discipline. This is the central point: equipment adapted to the standards of training in this or that sport. Then there are the questions of accommodation, catering and transport. Finally, we must not forget the Paralympic Games, and therefore the criterion of accessibility.
Many communities have already announced their wish to become CPJ. For a city or a territory, how can you tell the difference?
I am convinced that the real difference will be made later. Becoming CPJ initially means integrating a digital catalog intended for national Olympic and Paralympic committees. There is no guarantee at this stage that foreign delegations will visit a site. This is the whole difficulty for local elected officials. Before the London 2012 Games, a large number of the selected CPJs had not welcomed a single delegation. However, the organizing committee had released more than 2,5 million pounds to subsidize delegations who wished to come and prepare in the United Kingdom ahead of the Games. Each community must ask itself the key questions: what is my strategy? Why welcome foreign delegations to my territory? What type of sport or country are my infrastructures suitable for (sports, accommodation, etc.)? Is my offer consistent? What is my asset, my differentiating factor compared to other CPJs? Competition is tough, including with neighboring countries. There is nevertheless room if we don't spread ourselves too thin. We simply must not only hope to welcome the American athletics team. Many countries, many sports, can be interesting for a CPJ by bringing intangible benefits and a much more important legacy than media teams.
What benefits can a city or territory receive by being chosen as CPJ?
First and foremost, the economic benefits (accommodation, transport, transfers, catering, etc.). The media impact for the community and its region, but also for the host country, is also important. This is where the territory's positioning strategy, its history, its twinning, its tourist interests must be taken into account in order to build a story that contributes to the enhancement of the community. But it would be wrong to limit the benefits to this economic and promotional dimension alone. We must also, in my opinion, build hand in hand with the hosted delegation a more global program which will allow the community to accelerate and promote its public policies. I am thinking of interactions with schools, CSR projects in particular. All of this must be designed in order to leave a legacy and build a lasting relationship. And here again, we have to think about the Paralympic delegations.
How do you support candidate cities?
We first think together about their positioning and their objectives, while keeping in mind the competition from other CPJs and the targets of the national Olympic committees and federations to attract. There are a number of very important factors to take into account during this analysis phase: the technical characteristics of the infrastructures, the economic, political and sporting environment of the territory, the objectives of the community, existing public policies, etc. work is essential before going prospecting, but it is often forgotten. This phase can be relatively quick depending on the maturity of the project carried by the community. We then play a more commercial role by seeking out the targeted NOCs and/or federations. Our international network, built over 20 years around the world, allows us to quickly reach the right people. Finally, we suggest that communities host delegations on site from A to Z: prepare and manage their arrival between 2021 and 2024 in an extremely qualitative manner, in order to build a long-term partnership.
