Letter 33 – REPORT – February 98
“We want the World Cup to be a showcase for the talent we have in looking after visitors from abroad.” For Michel Platini and Fernand Sastre, the FRANCE 98 Presidents, providing a first-class welcome for over a month to the 32 teams, the hundreds of officials, the 12,000 members of the media and indeed 2.5 million spectators is obviously one of the most important aspects in organising FRANCE 98. Making travel as easy and trouble-free as possible, as well as offering room and board to these millions of participants and visitors, is a gigantic challenge with the added complication that, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, the teams will all be playing their first round matches in different cities each time. Using FIFA’s carefully conceived schedule of conditions as its starting point, the CFO set the wheels in motion well in advance of the competition. In short, nothing was to be left to chance: Mondiresa, a special hotel and travel reservation centre for the World Cup, was set up; Commercial Affiliates were engaged as active partners, and the help of hundreds of Volunteers was commissioned—all of whom will make a vital contribution to a brief which calls for scrupulous attention to detail. If everyone involved really enjoys their stay, the CFO will have added “that extra something” to the popular world celebration that FRANCE 98 intends to be. And success on this level will have repercussions on the way France is seen by the rest of the world, for it will be the focus of everyone’s attention throughout the 33 days of competition.
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Spotlight on the participants |
As the leading roles in the World Cup are to be played by the 32 national delegations—each consisting of 40 people—it follows that they will be taken entirely in hand by the French Organising Committee from the moment they set foot in France. As regards accommodation, FIFA directives mean that the teams have to stay in the host country for the whole of the competition period, and recommend that they should not travel further than 100 km away from the host cities. This regulation was the starting point for the CFO in the way it went about structuring its organisation. “Our first move was to find hotels that would be suitable for the 32 teams,” says Odile Lanceau, the CFO’s Head of Logistics. “Here we worked very closely with the French Football Federation’s Technical department, which has a great deal of experience in looking after teams from abroad.”
Less than a year after this initial step, at the end of 1995, Mondiresa, the hotel and travel reservation centre especially designed for the World Cup, was set up (see inset). The following year, 56 hotels in the neighbourhood of the 10 host cities signed a contract, valid until the Draw on 4 December 1997, blocking off around forty rooms for the duration of the competition (continued on page 4). At the same time, the Competition department checked out the training grounds near the hotels. All the information was then published by the CFO in the form of a guide book on hotels and training grounds, as stipulated in FIFA’s schedule of conditions. The guide was both a practical help and a firm guarantee for the teams when choosing where they would stay, the hotels all having agreed to put their entire establishments at the teams’ disposal if need be.
Once the first round match programme had been decided, the delegations made the necessary field trips before choosing their base camps, and were entirely at liberty to follow the CFO’s proposals or not. Twenty-three of them did so. And just for the record, we can assure you that despite rumours to the contrary, the United States never made it a condition that their base camp should be at least 100 km away from that of Iran.Hour by hour
After this preliminary phase, the FRANCE 98 team, working closely with the country concerned, had to plan the schedule—virtually hour by hour—of each team during the first round. The CFO will be taking charge of all the delegations as soon as they arrive in France. On a day-to-day basis, the logistical set-up supporting them will have a number of important human helpers. The teams of escorts will be staying in the same hotels as the players, and will start work 5 days before each nation’s first match, or sooner if need be.
On 15 March 1998, the travel schedule for local and inter-city journeys was finalised for each team right down to the hour. To do this the CFO worked in close collaboration with Air France, which is laying on special flights, and the SNCF, France’s national railway network (see insets). The logistics for each delegation are extremely complex, partly because there are more teams than ever taking part in the finals, bringing the match total up to 64, and partly because for the first time in World Cup history all the teams will be playing their three first round matches in a different city each time. “Everything is planned down to the last detail; there’s no question of anything being improvised,” says Odile Lanceau, whose job doesn’t just stop at the kick-off to the competition. As the matches progress, the results will have a knock-on effect in terms of what happens to teams that are eliminated—for whom homeward journeys will have to be organised—and those in the quarter-finals, who may have to shift their base camp depending on where their next match is being played. But here, too, all possible scenarios have been anticipated.
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The Figures |
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” If Nobody talks about us, we’ll have done a good Job ! “ |
CONVERSATION WITH ODILE LANCEAU, HEAD OF LOGISTICS FOR THE FRENCH ORGANISING COMMITTEE
| Co-director in the Organising Committee for Euro 84 in France, Odile Lanceau has now been in charge of Logistics for FRANCE 98 since 1994. A specialist in the football milieu, she believes that the success of her task rests largely on the shoulders of the Volunteers. |
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HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT PREPARING FOR THE ARRIVAL OF EACH OF THE 32 TEAMS IN THE FINALS?
Together with Mondiresa, we took the team representatives to see the hotels and training grounds they were interested in. I can say now that some teams started sounding out the possibilities even before they knew for certain that they were qualified! Everything went very well. The schedule for each team during the first round was finalised on 15 March, well within the time limits we set.
It was simply a question of being well-organised, so that we could say to each team, “this is what we can suggest for you.” But then we left them completely free to make up their own minds. Our work consisted more of advising and guiding those who weren’t sure of the best strategy to adopt. This meant they could use us as a sounding board, and we could then start getting down to real practicalities. The delegations were also able to get a realistic notion of the distances involved, and they tried out different methods of transport before deciding what steps to take according to their schedule.
HAVE YOU MADE PROVISIONS FOR EACH STAGE OF THE COMPETITION?
Yes, of course. We are in the process of getting a global picture concerning what each team wants to do if it qualifies for the next round, so that we can be sure they have firm accommodation booked afterwards. We’ve been gathering information from all of them. The most optimistic have already “sewn up” their base camp arrangements until the 13 July by making a provisional agreement with hotel managers. But there aren’t that many hotels who can afford to block off a large number of rooms like that. So it’s up to us to give them a guarantee, as from now, because it’s not the sort of thing that can be fixed up at the last moment. Likewise, we have tried to plan for air travel according to each team’s requirements.
One thing is certain, however: after two matches have been played in each group, we’ll have a far clearer picture. At that point, we’ll be making our plans day by day as the competition progresses.
RECEPTION FACILITIES ARE ONE OF THE CFO’S PRIORITIES. WHAT STRUCTURES HAVE YOU SET UP?
After Safety and Security, Logistics is the CFO department that will be using the largest number of Volunteers. We shall be setting up reception desks in all the airports and railway stations. They’ll be operational as from the beginning of June in readiness for the FIFA Congress on June 7 and 8. Each of these desks will be manned by Volunteers who can provide information—with a smile—to everybody, whether they’re media, officials, sponsors or the general public. Their brief will cover not only knowing how to get from one stadium to another or how to reach an airport from a station, but also being familiar with all aspects of the competition. All the Volunteers know that their work will be cut out for them, and are quite prepared. We have planned how everything will go not just in advance of the event, but also during and even after the competition.
SO, WILL EVERYTHING BE READY FOR DAY ONE?
Yes, but even if everything has gone smoothly by the end of the first day, we still won’t be able to relax. Getting the logistics right means an untroubled event from start to finish, and even when it’s all over we’ll still have to get the teams home again. That’s why I think if nobody is talking about us the day after the competition ends can we feel we’ve done a good job. And a victory like that is only possible by virtue of the Volunteers, on whose shoulders rests a large measure of our success.
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Feet under the table! |
One of the CFO’s main concerns will be catering for its guests. Food and drink for more than 3 million heads will have to be served during the 64 matches. Reception facilities and service will be made easier by about 1,300 different sales points for the general public in the various stadiums, a minimum of 110 per venue and 270 for the Stade de France alone. The CFO has given a great deal of thought to prices: between FF 10 and 20 according to the product. Around 2 million drinks are expected to be sold during all the matches, representing some 1,000 m3 of fizzy beverages, fruit juice and mineral water. On the catering front, 55,000 meals will be served to the hospitality box clients, 190,000 to the Prestige clients in the official salons, 120,000 in the Partners’ villages, plus catering for another 34,000 heads during the many cocktail receptions. In each stadium, 300 kitchen and waiting staff will be working (1,000 for the Final). These will mainly be well-trained students from 70 hotel management colleges.
The catering task facing the CFO also includes providing food and drink for the 12,000 members of the media and the 12,000 Volunteers. For the journalists, there will be restaurant areas in the press centres and at the International Media Centre. There they will be able to choose from a wide range of food, much of it of a regional variety. As for the Volunteers, feeding them involves the preparation and distribution of 1,000 meals per stadium on each match day, making a grand total of 100,000 overall. To ensure first-class results, the CFO has called on the services of two companies specialising in catering on this sort of scale, and they will be working in collaboration with the best available professionals in each area.
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IT’S AS SIMPLE AS MOBIFOOT! |
With 13 Metro lines, 2 RER (commuter train network) lines, 2 tramways, an automatic metro line (Orlyval) and more than 300 bus routes, the RATP is the principal transport company in the Paris metropolitan area, serving more than 9 million passengers every day. As one of the FRANCE 98 Equipment Suppliers, the RATP will be laying on special transport during the World Cup, as well as providing additional reception and information services for the entire spectrum of visitors. There will be information and reception desks for travellers in the metro, RER and main railway stations, manned by staff speaking several languages.
And to make travel as painless as possible for the millions of visitors, the RATP has teamed up with the urban travel networks in the ten host cities to create a special ticket called Mobifoot, valid on all their transport networks. This is a highly practical season ticket of variable duration, lasting from 6 to 41 days (5 different periods are on offer) giving unlimited travel in each of the World Cup host cities. Mobifoot has been on sale to future public transport users since the beginning of 1998, and can be bought through Tour Operators, and by directly contacting the RATP or the transport companies in the nine other cities.
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Long-Haul Volunteers |
After the Safety and Security, which will be employing around 38 % of the 12,000 FRANCE 98 Volunteers, the French Organising Committee department calling on the largest number of Volunteers is Logistics. And these particular Volunteers have a lengthy mission, because unlike the others, their job starts before the actual competition begins, goes right through it, and continues on afterwards.
One of the CFO’s prime objectives is ensuring that visitors receive top-class treatment during their stay. 15% of the Volunteers will be working as reception hosts and hostesses, and they will in fact be the first contact with the World Cup that many people have. So it’s important that this first meeting is a warm and friendly one. Around 1,800 men and women will be ready with a smile at all the venues to answer all kinds of questions from all kinds of people: partners, media, officials, and the general public.
Ever since they committed themselves to this great adventure, the Volunteers allocated to this particular task have been following a general reception training course, together with a specific module related to where they will be working: railway stations, airports, hotels, official villages, hospitality boxes, media centres, official stands, prestige salons and so on. These modules, like the general training course, were set up in close collaboration with the training department within the Accor Group. The latter, a FRANCE 98 Equipment Supplier, is the world leader in the realm of hotels, tourism and leisure. For the 1998 World Cup, the CFO wants to put the emphasis on promoting France as a lively place where visitors are welcomed with open arms.
The chauffeurs will also be projecting this positive image. The CFO has called upon a large number of Volunteers (800) to work in the Transport department, and they too have received special training, in this case from a specialist training company with assistance from Opel, another Official World Cup Partner. “We are insisting on two things from our chauffeurs,” says Odile Lanceau, “firstly, because they represent the World Cup and more generally France, they must have a pleasant manner with customers; and secondly, they must have a sound knowledge of the local area and its roads—this is vital.”
Chauffeurs have therefore been selected according to where they come from. In the host city where they’ll be working, they’ll know the routes between the hotels, railway station, airport and stadium like the back of their hands. The chauffeurs working for the 32 national delegations will need to fulfil one special condition: to be highly available, which means a very firm commitment indeed, because they’ll be starting work early on without really knowing how long their mission will last—this will only become clear as the competition progresses.
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The World Cup takes to the air |
Already the Official Transporter of the French national team since 1992, Air France signed an agreement with the French Organising Committee on 1 September 1997 to become the Official World Cup Airline. It then drew up a programme of special flights for this major event, not just for the general public but also for the teams and officials.
The standard transport programme embracing the host cities will thereby be augmented by 24 rotations (outward and return flights), 2/3 of which will use big carriers, long-haul planes like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340. Depending on demand (reservations are now open on 08 02 80 28 02), the number of rotations could be increased still further. All in all, 1/5 of the tickets on sale for flights going to the venues will be taken by travellers associated with the World Cup.
| For the World Cup, Air France will be laying on a special flight programme for the event. It has also decided to deck out 16 of its planes in the teams’ colours. |
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As for the national teams, there will be a schedule comprising 120 extra flights to take them to the host cities during the first round (and 50 thereafter). These will involve special planes with reduced capacity, which will only be carrying the delegations and their 1.5 tonnes of luggage and equipment.
Since the end of March, the Air France fleet has been ready with its new World Cup look: the cabins of 16 of its aeroplanes have been decorated in the colours of the 32 teams qualified for the finals, 2 to each plane. In this way all the teams are represented in noble fashion and on a daily basis, several thousand metres above the ground…
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User-friendly and a real pleasure |
When it signed its partnership agreement with the CFO, the SNCF, France’s national railway network and now an Official FRANCE 98 Equipment Supplier, engaged to provide the best travel conditions possible for hundreds of thousands of people—spectators, teams, media representatives and officials. One of its first moves was to open two new RER stations on 25 January this year: “La Plaine Stade de France” and “Stade de France Saint-Denis,” both serving the Stade de France. But apart from that, the SNCF has also programmed a series of measures specially adapted to the occasion, augmenting the frequency and capacity of trains. For the World Cup, in addition to the possibility of a 25% reduction with new “Discovery” products and special travel packages for spectators coming from abroad, a new ticket called “Trans Sport 98” has been designed for travelling around the Paris metropolitan area.
As well as all this, the SNCF has drawn up a special timetable dovetailing with match times and including post-match evening return journeys, with a night TGV (high-speed train) service, while a reception service (including taxis and longer opening times for car parks) has been planned for night-time arrivals at the stations concerned.
These days, the train has everything to make it the perfect mode of transport for an event like this. Less tiring than driving and with no unpredictable traffic-jams, train travel will without doubt constitute one of the many user-friendly and enjoyable experiences that help make the 16th World Cup memorable.
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France welcomes the World |
In hosting the World Cup, France is also making ready to welcome the world. In other words, it is preparing to embark on the largest promotion drive ever seen in our country! A formidable challenge that the Secretary of State for Tourism has responded to by launching a dynamic campaign involving the industry’s professionals. The campaign, known as “Bonjour 98,” is symbolised by a smile on the outline of a ball. Its aim is to enhance “World Cup fever” in France, and enable the public authorities, companies and partners involved to be identified with a national desire to embrace the world. The first sign of the movement afoot is the “welcome contract” proposing that tourism’s professionals commit themselves to providing top-quality services, reception facilities and surroundings, and to let it be known by the public. Operation “blue price” aims to make hoteliers and camping-site managers more conducive to offering “friendly prices”. A number of initiatives are to be carried out abroad as well as in France, with a view to instilling a dynamic spirit but also a sense of goodwill into FRANCE 98, thereby inspiring many people to visit or revisit France…
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Hotels: a first in World Cup History |
As well as providing that “little bit extra”, The French Organising Committee wanted to offer a range of prices to suit all budgets, for those who are, or will be looking for accommodation during the event. For this reason a hotel and travel reservation centre was created especially dedicated to the World Cup, and offering its services not just to the teams and the media but to the general public as well. The service, which represents a “first” in World Cup history, was baptised Mondiresa. Set up by the Accor Group, Mondiresa has more than 750 hotels of all categories on its books, including hotels from within the Accor Group itself, as well as independent establishments which have joined the reservation centre from all over France. To join, they have to comply with a schedule of conditions guaranteeing clients a certain level of service and reasonable rates. “Because it has a global view over supply and demand, Mondiresa plays the role of accommodation regulator,” says Philippe Bertinchamps, the Managing Director. “Our capacity for constant flexibility is our great trump card—we can respond to all requirements.” Three months away from the event, Mondiresa has already processed 300,000 reservations and taken charge of the accommodation for 19 teams. A real triumph.