Tom Cruise, Lebron James, Natalie Portman, John Travolta, Sharon Stone, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Tom Brady… the roll call of sports and entertainment A-listers spotted touching down in Paris for the summer Olympics has been one of the talking points of the 2024 games.
Whoever their bespoke travel agents, Endeavor subsidiary On Location is likely to have supported these VIP trips in some shape or form.
In a new model, the company, specialized in travel and entertainment packages around live events, is the exclusive hospitality partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Paris games.
“Some come to us directly, some via partners in the room, whether it’s Coca Cola or Visa or NBC, some come via their travel concierge… they all find a way to us,” Will Whiston, On Location’s EVP Olympics & Paralympics, tells Deadline in Paris.
“Traditionally, the broadcasters, NBC or Eurosport, would be where talent comes through. They’ve engaged with us during these games when they have VIPs. They know we have unique access and that we’re also part of the venue management, so we’re able to ensure that they get access in a secure manner, and that they’re also in a private setting, which is what we’re able to offer unlike past games.”
Under the new model, On Location’s focus has been on creating packages combining tickets with different travel, accommodation and hospitality options at a variety of price points, in partnership with the IOC, with the purchase point for onsite bundles being the latter’s new streamlined ticketing website.
In the past, the sale and creation of packages combining tickets with a hospitality element has been handled by a variety of different companies, which would acquire tickets and then attach extras such as travel, dining or experiences related to the games.
“They’ve never had hospitality or any sort of experiences around it. It’s always because it’s difficult to execute,” says Whiston.
“We’ve had the opportunity to do that, which I think has enhanced the onsite experience, and frankly, is one of the biggest commercial changes since 1984 for the Olympics,” he adds boldly.
The deal, announced back in 2021, covering both the Olympics and Paralympics, runs across the upcoming winter games in Milan-Cortina in Italy, and the next summer games in L.A. in 2028.
The tie-in followed Endeavor’s acquisition in early 2020 of a majority stake in On Location, in a deal estimated in the range of $650M to $700M.
Per a Sport Business Journal report at the time of the Olympics deal, based on a SEC filing, On Location was projected to pay around $1.3B to the IOC under profit-share terms over the course of the three events, which Endeavor execs have told analysts will in turn reap it hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.
Whiston will not drill down on the figures but says he was expecting record breaking results out of Paris.
“What I will say is that heading into July 26 we had already exceeded by multiples the hospitality sold at any prior Olympics,” he offers.
“We were already on the verge or, depending on who you ask, had already exceeded any other major global event, in terms of a program like this. And then, ever since the games started, the demand has just gone up even further, which has been amazing to watch.”
Salon 24
The New York-based exec is sitting on a plush turquoise blue velvet couch in the Maison de l’Amérique Latine off Boulevard Saint Germain on the Paris Left Bank.
Spanning two 18th century mansions and one of the largest gardens in central Paris, the center is usually a cultural and diplomatic hub for the Latin American community in France.
For the duration of the 2024 games, it has been taken over by On Location to serve as one its swankiest hospitality hubs, under the banner of Salon 24.
In the garden, dotted with deckchairs and low table, there’s a buffet and bar as well as giant screen playing the top events.
Decked out in the official blue and pink colors of the 2024 games, the main mansion is hosting an exhibition exploring the history of the Olympics, with artefacts such as medals dating back to the early modern games, on loan from the official Olympic Museum in Lausanne for the first time.
There are a series of quiet lounges and a bar, overseen by a barman from Paris’ luxury Hôtel de Crillon, who has created alcoholic and non-alcoholic signature cocktails to mark the Olympics.
Taking stock as the 2024 Olympics enter the final straight, Whiston says the games have exceeded expectations, with the tournament finding its mojo again after reduced summer games in Rio, due to an outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika disease, and the Covid-19 hit Tokyo and Beijing summer and winter games in 2021 and 2022.
“The rings didn’t lose their luster, but it was just something people hadn’t interacted with in a traditional manner for a while,” he says.
“But it’s taken off. IOCs social accounts have has taken off in terms of followers; NBC, Eurosport ratings are flying. Our guest experience has been fantastic… we’ve been fortunate to take on this endeavor for the first time here,” he says.
Packages at the top end of the On Locations offering cost tens of thousands of dollars, but Whiston says the company has options at all price points.
Clubhouse 24, courtesy
He points to its Clubhouse 24 location situated in the Palais de Tokyo looking onto the Eiffel Tower. The venue – which offers a food market, live entertainment and interactive sports activities – has a daily capacity to host 8,000 people and is one of the most affordable options, with tickets going for as little as 100 euros ($110) prior to the games.
“Hospitality around sport has tended to be very corporate and follow the format of dining and then being taken to an event… our whole business model has been centered around creating an experience that’s greater than just a seat and that doesn’t just mean food and beverage. That means engaging with talent, engaging with legends of the sport, feeling like you’re a part of the competition. So, in that vein, we’ve created packages that start from more of a fan level, with offerings below 100 euros.”
Beyond Salon 24 and Clubhouse, On Location’s other key site outside of an Olympic venue is Gustave 24, which has involved a takeover of the Eiffel Tower’s main restaurant.
The company is also overseeing hospitality at 23 Olympic venues, with its spaces at the Stade de France and Bercy stadiums as well as a champagne lounge at the Eiffel Tower site for the beach volleyball proving popular with stars.
On Location began building its 2024 Paris operation three years ago, with its Olympics and Paralympics business unit taking flight following the signing of the 2021 contract.
“We signed the contract, and it was, ‘Ok, let’s start this. We have three years to execute this’. That was from the first hire, to now, when we’re almost 400 full-time staff and 1000s of temporary staff, who are providing service and guest relations, as well as 1000s of staff from vendors and partners. It’s been an enormous build.”
Whiston says the Olympics is far larger than any of the other sporting events handled by On Location, which has partnerships with the NFL, NCAA, PGA of America, and the United States Tennis Association among other sports orgs.
“The Olympics is two Super Bowls, two World Cups, two Basketball World Championships and 600 other world championships in two weeks. It’s just not even multiples. It’s infinitely larger than anything else,” he says.
The Olympics and Paralympics On Location team is already working on the Milan-Cortina and L.A. operations, even holding a special media event in Paris for the former unveiling the first set of hospitality packages.
Whiston acknowledges that Paris has been particularly exciting from a hospitality point of view for the way the games have taken place against the backdrop of landmark sites such as the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais or the Place de la Concorde, but says the next two hosting locations will also be special.
“L.A. is L.A. The beach volleyball here is incredible under the Eiffel Tower, in L.A. it’s going to be in Santa Monica,” says Whiston.
He also cites the Staple Center, which will host the gymnastics, and the Inuit Dome, the new home of the LA Clippers which opens its doors next week and has been earmarked for Olympic basketball, as exciting venues.
“It got five levels of lounges. You have suites wrapping around the whole venue. It might seem strange, but there are even TVs in the bathrooms so spectators using the facilities can carrying on watching the sports event,” he says of the Inuit Dome.
“Paris is unique in that it affords so many incredible iconic venues right up next to each other. L.A has a different value proposition. It has its own character, and I think they’re they’re going to do an incredible job deploying its iconic venues but what’s really unique is that L.A. has so many world class sporting venues… Milan-Cortina and L.A. are going to be spectacular in their own different ways.”
