Paris Olympics offers VIP hospitality experiences, with an assist from NC-based exec

People attending the Olympics this month in Paris — one of the most glamorous cities in the world — got to see the best athletes in the world competing on a global stage.

For those willing to splurge, attendees could add to the experience. Think drinks on a boat on the Seine River, dinner at the Louvre or even a VIP lounge in the Eiffel Tower.

The Olympics offered special hospitality packages for the first time to attendees that included fine dining, premium seating, entertainment, guest appearances and luxury hospitality lounges.

On Location, a sports travel and event management company, curated the experiences with ideas coming from Chapel Hill resident Leah Linke. Linke is the senior vice president of event production for On Location, a New York-based company that provides hospitality and experiences during major events.

The company offered a range of options in Paris, starting at 100 euros to thousands per ticket for more lavish experiences, depending on the sporting event. The Olympics end Sunday with the closing ceremonies. (There’s a package for that event, too).

“We are giving guests the opportunity to really flesh out their week,” Linke said. “We give them an opportunity to not just race to the event, but to take their time going to the event, enjoying some hospitality before.”

Preparation years in the making

While it’s On Location’s first time partnering with the Olympics, the company has had partnerships with major events such as the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four. The company is based in New York and has an office in Raleigh with 150 full-time employees.

Linke started her career in sports management by working for the World Cup Organizing Committee. Soon after, she fell in love with event planning and joined a production agency in Los Angeles whose main client was the NFL. In her position, Linke worked at 15 Super Bowls, planning hospitality events including pre- and post-game player parties, tailgates and fan experiences.

Then, in March 2021, Linke sat in her home on a Zoom call with her team. They learned that the company had won the bid to provide hospitality for the 2024 Olympic Games.

“Our CEO stood up and he had a T-shirt with the Olympic rings on it,” Linke said. “He told us we all made it and that we won the bid. It was a pretty emotional day.”

That’s when the work really began, and Linke and her team dreamt big.

“The week after we were awarded the Olympics, there were five of us that came out here, and we were let in on the secret that the Opening Ceremonies were going to be on the Seine,” Linke said.

“And in a weekend we mapped out [that] we’re going to do hospitality on the bridges,” she said. “We’re going to do hospitality on the floating gardens. We’re going to do hospitality in the Palais de Tokyo, and then we had thousands of guests that attended the ceremonies.”

There are hospitality lounges in 23 event venues of the Olympic Games and five off-venue hospitality spaces.

Salon 24 is one of the most exclusive sites. The Maison de l’Amérique Latine mansion has been transformed into an Olympic oasis, including rooms of various Parisian-inspired cuisine, with daily activities, entertainment and Versailles-style gardens scattered with large screens so fans don’t miss the competition.

Palais de Tokyo is usually dedicated to modern and contemporary art, but On Location transformed it into The Clubhouse 24 to commemorate the Olympic Games from its origins to present time. The museum is filled with historical artifacts, like a display of all the Olympic torches throughout the years and rooms dedicated to immerse visitors into the mindset of specific sports.

A guest who visited Salon 24 walked through the process of submitting her top few sports she’d like to see and the dates she’d be in Paris.

“Honestly, we just gave them some money and they did the rest,” she said.

From there, On Location handled everything, including the event tickets, hotel, flights and transportation while at the Games.

The company will continue to go international with Olympic partnerships for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games and then back to the United States, when Los Angeles hosts the Summer Games in 2028.

Although it took some convincing for long-time Olympic attendees to appreciate what On Location was doing, Linke believes this year has set the bar moving into their next contract — the 2026 World Cup.

“Once we get people in, they love the hospitality,” Linke said. “For people that have come this year, they’re going to expect the standard here on forward.”

Maya Waid and Jasmine Baker are students with UNC Media Hub, a program with the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, reporting from the Summer Olympics in Paris.

This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 9:00 AM.