Paris 2024 is almost here. Billions have been spent trying to create the most sustainable Olympics yet. The Exchange meets the leaders at the forefront of efforts to create a legacy of economic and environmental success.
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00:00 Let the games begin. This July the Olympics will return to the French capital Paris for
00:07 a third time. Billions of dollars have been poured into this year's competition. But how
00:12 much will be made and will it be worth it for the host country?
00:21 Welcome to The Exchange from our studio here in Doha. Coming up on this episode we meet
00:26 the man in charge. Christophe Duby, Executive Director of the Olympic Games, explains what
00:31 it takes to create the planet's biggest international sporting event. Plus we talk to Jaime Byram,
00:38 CEO of Beyond Hospitality, one company disrupting the sporting events sector. So it's 41 different
00:45 sports, more than 300 events competing over 19 days. Will big events like this attract
00:52 the biggest sponsors? Let's take a look at who they are. Coca-Cola has been an Olympic
00:57 sponsor longer than any other company, signing their first deal back in 1928. Well, the giant
01:04 beverage brand has faced criticism for plastic pollution and vowed to rely solely on recyclable
01:10 glass bottles at Paris 2024, a move designed to help reduce single-use plastics throughout
01:16 the whole event by 50%, something that would be an Olympic first. San Francisco-based Airbnb
01:24 signed a nine-year deal with the Olympics Committee in 2019 worth 500 million euros.
01:31 A study by financial consultancy Deloitte predicts Airbnb customers coming to Paris
01:36 '24 will spend half a billion euros on restaurants and leisure activities in the city. And big
01:44 sponsorship means big money. To give us an idea of just how much, a 2022 budget review
01:51 revealed over four billion euros were put aside for the organizing committee. 1.4 billion
01:58 is allocated for ticketing, licensing and hospitality, and 1.2 billion euros on partnerships.
02:05 The River Seine is the focal point for the opening ceremony. There's plans for a huge
02:09 boat parade on the water. The river will also be used for competitions. But as Euronews
02:14 reporter Cyril Feneres found out, a big clean-up needs to happen first. One of Europe's most
02:22 iconic rivers is also one of its most important. Winding its way through from Burgundy to the
02:28 English Channel, the Seine has brought trade and transportation to Paris for centuries.
02:34 And it remains that same critical lifeline to millions today. Over 50 percent of all
02:39 water used in Paris still comes from the Seine. As the world prepares for the Paris Olympics,
02:45 a major effort is underway to get this great river ready on time. 1.4 billion euros has
02:53 been invested to decontaminate the river. A giant rainwater storage basin is being built
02:59 behind the Gare de Stalit to reduce the amount of water discharged from the sewers into the
03:05 Seine during rainy periods. We asked the deputy mayor of the city of Paris what this work
03:22 meant for Parisians. The city of Paris guarantees that the Seine
03:52 will be open to all bathers by 2025 and that this great clean-up will be one of the main
03:58 legacies of the Paris Olympics. Back to you, Guy.
04:04 Well I asked Christophe to be executive director of the Olympics and Paralympics about the
04:08 logistics of such a vast event and what attracts people to the Games.
04:15 It's more than half a million people a day that you process through the various venues.
04:21 And then you can imagine what it takes in terms of transportation. You're adding on
04:27 any city, for that matter Paris, you're adding about 600 to 700,000 people a day in the transport
04:34 system. And then you have the security challenge. All of the venues have to be fully secured.
04:40 So it takes 35 to 40,000 people every day. You have telecommunication. Well, it's the
04:48 size of Paris overlaid for every single day of competition. So it's exposed, it's complicated,
04:57 it's sophisticated, but it is the world as one. And what we stand for at the time of
05:03 the Games is peace, respect, friendship, and this matters. And these values are exposed
05:11 to the rest of the world. Now, as you heard there, the Olympics will
05:15 bring millions of visitors into the city of Paris. And many spectators will also be looking
05:21 to the hospitality sector to enhance their overall experience. This could be anything
05:26 from VIP boxes to catering at your seat. The hospitality packages at big sporting events
05:32 like the Olympics are getting bigger and better. Jaime Byram is the CEO of Beyond Hospitality,
05:39 an executive with almost four decades of experience in the industry. I asked him for his thoughts
05:45 on the evolution of hospitality. One of the things that we've taken a lead
05:50 on in recent years is to look beyond the security perimeter of the stadium, look for what we
05:57 call ancillary services, integrate an offering of accommodation, ground transportation, offsite
06:04 hospitality venues. All those things are things that if you look at the programs that I've
06:10 had the privilege of being involved with over the years, they have been innovations at the
06:13 time, but they soon become standard to the industry.
06:16 Now it's time for our regular feature business in 60 seconds. Start the clock. Giant retail
06:23 group Gap gets ready to release its earnings for the first quarter of the year. The 55-year-old
06:27 iconic clothing brand has enjoyed strong sales growth in recent months, causing share valuations
06:32 to soar. The board is continuing its strategy of expanding their most profitable stores
06:37 like Old Navy. The National Bank of Canada reports on Q2 2024, Quebec's biggest bank
06:43 saw sales surge to over 10 billion Canadian dollars in 2023 and profits rose in the first
06:49 quarter of the year. But the looming threat of customers missing loan repayments due to
06:54 high borrowing costs is one of many challenges the board will need to navigate in the months
06:58 ahead. American software firm Adobe is also set to publish its Q2 results. The maker of
07:05 products like PDF, Photoshop and Premiere Pro has been busy building a range of new
07:11 AI-assisted tools that they hope will revolutionise the video editing market while also creating
07:17 protections for people and companies against the dangers of deep fakes.
07:23 The Games are a competition but also a celebration of the best in the world. Well, all eyes will
07:29 be on Paris and the efforts made to prepare the city for an incredible opening ceremony.
07:34 There's a focus on sustainability and shared values. For the organisers and sponsors, delivering
07:40 an economic legacy as well as protecting the planet, well, that's the ultimate Olympic
07:45 dream. Well, that's all we have time for on this edition of the show. Thank you for watching.
07:50 Please do check out Euronews.com for all your latest business news and join us again next
07:54 time on the exchange.
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