No draw, access to certain finals… Tickets put on sale by On Location, the official supplier of hospitality offers linked to the Paris 2024 Olympics, seem tempting. Included in these hospitality packages, the tickets are accompanied by additional services. Premium offers that allow, in part, to finance the Games. As an official hospitality supplier, sales ofOn Location constitute an inflow of money for the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG).
“Our success is theirs, and their success is ours,” said Sam Dautrevaux, executive advisor at On Location. Two months after the launch of sales, any communication on the results remains prohibited. “We don’t give figures to prevent them from being poorly analyzed without the necessary indicators,” he said. But we are satisfied, we are where we wanted. »
Unconvinced supporters
“Our offer finds its audience”, assures the executive adviser ofOn Location. A public willing to pay several hundred euros to have the best seats… or even to be in boxes. Some formulas also allow hotel accommodation and a transport offer. “Even if there is no exclusivity on the subject, these hosting offers are acquired more by companies,” he concedes. Anxious to respond to the desire “to make the Olympics accessible to all”, On Location also offers an entry-level at 100 euros.
An alternative that is not enough to convince supporters. “Many want to be able to follow all the matches of the French team, but the prices vary between 600 and 1,000 euros instead [pour le basket], regrets Quentin Larnaudie, member of the board of the National Union of Basketball Supporters (UNSB). If I follow all the games, a large part of my annual salary goes there. »
An alternative to the classic ticket office?
“The opening for sale of hospitality packages was the starting point for ticketing, for me,” says Victor. A big fan of the Olympics, the young man shared his tip on a Facebook group last January. That is one month before the opening of the classic ticket office. “Of course, it is a little more expensive. But there are quite a few events for less than 100 euros with the possibility of paying in three instalments, ”he wrote. Victor is not at his first attempt. “I had taken tickets for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, I knew it would be war when the sales launched”, confides the one who has already secured three places.
“With anticipation, we can manage to have affordable places,” he continues. I managed to make myself a nice program, with a real sporting interest [épreuves avec chances de médailles], without having spent 2,000 euros. A “good plan” that requires a lot of involvement. Victor spent two days creating an Excel table in which he lists in chronological order the event, the date, the minimum price and the code of the session of each event that interests him. “But in any case, everything is not decided now, reassures Victor. At least half of the seats have not yet gone on sale. »