Excitement building for Paris Games

Signs that the Paris Games are fast approaching were hard to miss last week in New York. On Wednesday, the Empire State Building was lit up in red, white and blue to celebrate 100 days until the opening ceremony. That same day, Team USA concluded its biennial media summit, bringing together 100 athletes at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square for a three-day event that serves as an inflection point in the lead-up to the Games.

The summit came not just with the excitement of the Paris Games and the run-up to the Los Angeles Games in 2028, but with the U.S. on the verge of landing Salt Lake City as host for the 2034 Winter Games, with a July 24 vote that is considered a shoo-in.

“The Games also represent the reemergence of the Olympic spirit, the Paralympic spirit in the United States,” said Gene Sykes, board chair for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, adding, “It’s really the opportunity for this generation of Americans to make an enormous impact on the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”

As the opening ceremony in Paris draws closer, here’s where things stand on several key points of Olympic business:

Hospitality home run

On Location, which is debuting as a single hospitality provider after signing a deal in 2021 for the next three Games, has sold a majority of its inventory and is working toward a sellout, according to Will Whiston, the company’s executive vice president, Olympics and Paralympics.

Whiston said On Location is sold out or nearly sold out of hospitality packages for equestrian, judo, fencing and beach volleyball (the latter of which will be held at the Eiffel Tower) and is nearly sold out in swimming, which will take place in the only new competition venue built for these Games.

For those that are taking place in temporary venues, On Location is looking to add more capacity to accommodate interest.

“We’ve seen demand from the beginning,” Whiston said. “And now we’re starting to see it really accelerate.”

On Location announced the sale of single-day tickets for Team USA House, which will run 325 euros (about $347) for the Olympics and 150 euros ($160) for the Paralympics. It will allow fans access to the first floor of the Palais Brongniart, an events center built in the 1800s, and tickets for the house also can be purchased in other hospitality packages.

“It is going to be a watershed moment,” Whiston said. “It’s going to be like ’84 was for the commercial side of the Olympics.”

One for all

As part of a brand platform it developed with Wieden + Kennedy, the USOPC unveiled its “One for All” campaign at the media summit with a 60-second video showcasing Team USA’s stories and representation of their fellow Americans.

The campaign is meant to celebrate the diversity of Team USA and uses content captured during the NBCUniversal shoot in Los Angeles in November.

“Everybody’s really excited for Paris. In a way, it’s like a return to the magic of the Games,” said Jess Park, chief of brand and fan engagement for the USOPC. “For many of our fans, especially our young fans, this might be the first time that they’re really meeting Team USA. And so we wanted to take that opportunity to really show up in a bold and ambitious way.”

Salt Lake City

With a successful visit from the International Olympic Committee earlier this month, Salt Lake City and USOPC leaders are feeling confident about securing the 2034 Winter Games.

Among the items to be worked out is the commercial relationship between the two. The USOPC is in a joint venture with LA28 that has the organizing committee operating sponsorship sales under U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties and guaranteeing the USOPC $488 million.

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said the sides have not settled on a legal structure for how they will handle commercial efforts, which the IOC requires to be combined for organizing committees and the host country national Olympic committee.

Assuming a successful vote, the USOPC will be able to start sales for Salt Lake City in January 2027, with activation two years later. Renewals with current domestic sponsors will be a first priority, Hirshland said.

“It will be distinct from what we’ve done in L.A.,” Hirshland said. “In Salt Lake, it’s more likely to be a revenue share where we have shared incentives and a little bit more of a joint operating structure.”

The USOPC effectively lost much of its commercial staff when the joint venture with LA28 started. To the extent it will have to stand up a new one, Hirshland said it would seek continuity.

While USPOC and bid leaders are cautious about discussing Salt Lake as a done deal, it looks all but inevitable after the IOC visit.

“I have a high degree of confidence that this will end in an award,” Hirshland said. “Everything that needs to go right is going right.”

LA28

For LA28 leaders, the excitement for the Games’ momentum comes amid sponsorship changes after losing top-tier sponsor Salesforce and announcing the addition of education and career partner Guild last week. The organizing committee continues to search for a CEO who can drive the operational focus as its Games pivot there.

“Commercially, we feel very good,” said LA28 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans. “Operationally, it’s time, right? And it’s kind of fun that it’s time, because we’ve talked about it for so long.”

LA28 hopes to name a new CEO before Paris after Kathy Carter left in December. It also seeks to make up sales, casting Salesforce’s departure as an opportunity to find a new sponsor in the customer relationship management category.

LA28 officials are hoping to use the Paris Games as a springboard to launch sponsor interest.

“From what I see, it’s lining up great for our success there,” Evans said. “So what I would say to the sponsors is that there’s no Olympics or Paralympics like a home Games.”