Fax Info No2

From 10 June to July 12 this year, the stadiums will be packed with the 2.5 million spectators watching the 16th World Cup. A real catering challenge for the French Organising Committee, as meals and drinks for an estimated 3 million heads will have to be served during the 64 matches.

To make the reception and serving of the public easier, the number of sales points have been increased: to the 252 snack bars already planned for the stadiums will be added a further 114, plus 606 trolley units, and 374 refreshment salespeople walking around in different sections of the ground. This means that the public will have access to 1,300 sales points in the various stadiums: 110, at least, at each venue, and 270 for the Stade de France alone. Depending on the stadiums, there will be between 350 to 800 staff working to provide food and drink.

“The number of sales points have been increased for two reasons: to offer people a faster service and to avoid having to wait in long queues,” says Odile Lanceau, Head of Logistics for the French Organising Committee. And she adds, “The quality of the welcome given to the public has always been one of FRANCE 98’s chief concerns. The public will be there in the stadiums long before each match kicks-off. And if the weather is very hot, spectators must be able to get to a refreshment stand easily.”

For security reasons, drinks will be sold either in glasses or in pliant plastic bottles of up to 50cl without corks. The French Organising Committee has taken great care to ensure that prices in the stadiums won’t be too high. Drinks will cost between FF 10 and 20 depending on the product.

“We estimate that the number of drinks sold on match days throughout the competition will reach about 2 million, meaning 1,000m3 of fizzy drinks, fruit juice and mineral water,” says Vincent Bergmann, Head of Catering for FRANCE 98.

With regard to the catering services, there will be 55,000 meals served to clients in the Hospitality Boxes, 190,000 in the official “Prestige Salons” for Prestige Seat customers, and 120,000 in the Partners’ Hospitality Villages, not forgetting the 34,000 guests at the various official cocktail receptions laid on throughout the competition.

In each stadium there will be more than 300 staff working in the kitchens and doing the meal service. For the World Cup Final on 12 July at the Stade de France, no less than 1,000 personnel will be gamely employed. Among others, students from seventy different catering colleges will be devoting their skills and know-how to the great event.

For the French Organising Committee, the catering aspect also concerns the 12,000 members of the media, and the 12,000 Volunteers working for FRANCE 98. For the journalists, eating areas will be at their disposal in the ten press centres and at the International Media Centre. There they will find a wide range of food (sandwiches, ready-to-eat dishes, a daily menu and so on), with an emphasis on regional cooking. As for the Volunteers, feeding them will involve the preparation and serving of 1,000 meals at each stadium on each match day – making a total of around 100,000 meals throughout the World Cup tournament!

In order to cope with the heavy demand, the French Organising Committee has called on the services of two companies specialising in catering for large numbers. These companies will be working in conjunction with the best available local professionals at each venue.

Quality control and strict compliance with hygiene regulations form an integral part of the French Organising Committee’s schedule of conditions for these companies. With the cold storage rooms, refrigerated lorries, refrigerated containers and refrigerators, scrupulous care will be ensured all along the line.