The Event Services, or EVS, functional area at Paris 2024 works closely with the People Management department and other functional areas to ensure an excellent fan experience throughout this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
We spoke to Orso Porta, Head of Event Services at Paris 2024, about how this central team is meticulously planning the spectator hosting activities across the competition venues.
“The Event Services team is known as the Face of Paris 2024. We’re responsible for providing a welcoming and safe environment for fans at Olympic and Paralympic venues.”
He continues: “Our central team is planning spectator hosting activities at 32 Paris 2024 competition venues, as well as the Opening Ceremonies for The Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
What are the key roles the Event Services team does?
At each venue, EVS undertakes five essential roles to enhance fan experience:
- Welcome fans to provide an unforgettable time at a competition session
- Direct fans through the front of house of a venue. Spectators do get lost!
- Provide fans with the information they need to fully take advantage of their time at a competition session
- Assist fans with their needs, such as accessibility and mobility support
- Support fans by being a visible presence and supporting them to resolve problems
How Event Services uses OnePlan for Paris 2024
A fundamental way in which EVS uses OnePlan is for ‘dot planning’. This exercise consists of positioning workforce and volunteers on the venue plans.
This is especially important when considering fans’ journeys inside and outside the venues. Orso says: “The other key way EVS uses OnePlan is to trace the routes spectators take inside venues – and in the immediate proximity – to reach seating and viewing areas. Knowing the routes allows the team to determine where to place teams of volunteers and how to direct flows of spectators.”
He adds: “We put ourselves in the shoes of the spectator. We start ahead of the entrance to the queueing lines of ticket inspection points and Pedestrian Screening Area, to then trace towards the various spectator seating and viewing areas, working across the various floor levels accessible to ticket holders.”
The venue districts, outside the stadium or arena itself, are key spaces to plan in. Orso says: “Our dots, our team, are placed outside venues – supporting the safe flow of spectators, as well as Security and Ticketing activities – and of course inside all venues, on each floor level, wherever ticketholders will be.”
A massive improvement for planning
Used by 46 functional areas within The Organizing Committee, to plan 49 venues, OnePlan is saving time and reducing risks for the planning of The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
“This way of planning is a massive improvement on how it’s been done before,” says Orso.
“It’s now with a real-time GIS mapping software, that has all the venue CAD and floor plan files uploaded, so we can easily position and view the thousands of staff and volunteers we’ll need.”
Orso concludes: “We’re saving a huge amount of time compared to the old way of doing this with spreadsheets and screenshots.”
