‘When I was a little girl, when I saw Philippe Découflé's opening ceremony at the Albertville Olympics, I said to myself, I want to do that when I grow up’. Three decades later, mission almost accomplished for Stéphanie Dartevelle, VP sponsorship Europe and North Africa, who has embraced Sébastien Bazin's ambition to form a premium partnership for the 2024 Olympic Games.

‘We've been working together on this project since 2021, when Accor became a premium partner. There were sometimes 30 of us around the table at our interim meetings, because there were so many issues. In the end, we made the most of this investment. 

It's also thanks to the support and commitment of the members of our ComEx, who were present throughout the roll-out of the project and during the competitions.

According to Stéphanie Dartevelle, this investment is priceless. Over and above the confidentiality surrounding this amount, which is undoubtedly extremely significant even for the world's 7th largest hotel group, it is the impact that she is referring to.

‘We worked with three objectives in mind:

• Work on the employer brand, with very significant spin-offs so far. Yesterday, at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, 160 employees volunteered to look after the para-athletes while they waited for them to pass. Sébastien Bazin was among us to welcome the para-athletes.
• Bringing value to our owners by enabling them to make the most of this event. All Accor hotels in France can use the Olympic Games brand and bring the competition to life in their establishments.
• Bringing value to our ALL members who have all come away from the experiences we have designed for them with a desire to re-engage’.

800 employees have been recruited to run the Olympic Village and these 800 people will have the opportunity to pursue a career in the hotels if they wish through a job forum that will be organised after the 2024 Olympic Games.

This commitment and enthusiasm was palpable during the events and benefited other major French groups in the CAC 40.

A case in point was the atmosphere at the first match between the French wheelchair rugby team and Denmark. The score was so close that in the final minutes there was a 5th player on the pitch, the French supporters.

This partnership is an investment in the future, with an immense outreach potential around the summer 2024 edition, which put Paris and the French destination at the forefront of the international stage. It's a strategy that Sébastien Bazin hopes to continue exploiting with, for example, the sponsorship of the 2024 America's Cup in anticipation of the launch of the Orient Express yachts in 2026.

It's also the result of in-depth work. Accor has been supporting 10 athletes for several years, including Kauli Vaast who started surfing in Hossegor opposite the first Jo&Joe 7 years ago. As a result, he's surfing on the Seine with his gold medal highlighting the ALL brand.

But Kauli is not the only medallist among the athletes supported by Accor. He is next door to judoka Amandine Buchard, and the para-athletes will no doubt be contributing their share of medals.

Stéphanie Dartevelle emphasises: ‘We are even more present at the Paralympic Games, because for us there was a very important CSR dimension to this partnership. It's also the culmination of work we've been doing for several years on the Smart Room with Michaël Jeremiasz, four-time Olympic wheelchair tennis medallist.

See you after the closing ceremony on September 8 for a full review of this investment, which is already very positive.