To Park or Not to Park. That is the Olympic Activation Question

The first ten days of the Paris Olympic Games have not been lacking in exciting competition, headline news and developments, and, as always, a few controversies.

Much of the conversation has surrounded the influence that these Games will have on their successors, as most everyone agrees we are entering into a golden period for Olympic events following the pandemic restrictions, economic challenges and problematic host countries of the past decade.

For example, you can find plenty of feverish posts and comments that insist that the integration of LVMH into the Opening Ceremonies has permanently changed how brands, the IOC and future organizing committees will approach partnerships. (News flash: It hasn’t, as last week’s post in this space explained.)

But not too much has been said, yet, about another Paris 2024 innovation—the lack of an Olympic Park, which in host cities of the past three decades has served as a central hub of visitor activity and on-site sponsor activations. As a Sports Business Journal piece put it, “For decades, Olympic sponsors could count on having a captive audience at a designated central location, a place where fans would congregate between sporting sessions and sponsors could engage with large crowds. Think Centennial Park in Atlanta or Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. But starting with Paris, those days might be numbered, at least for the near future.”

The article goes on to detail how TOP and local Games partners have pivoted their consumer-facing experiential activity primarily to self-selected locations throughout the City of Lights. By the sound of it, most sponsors are pleased with the alternatives they were able to create, with some perhaps even preferring the scattered-site solution.

There are numerous reasons—financial, environmental and security top the list—why forgoing an Olympic Park makes perfect sense for Paris and perhaps some future host cities. But it is not likely this will be the end of Olympic parks completely. Paris 2024’s legacy will be that the creation of centralized, non-competition gathering spaces—if none currently exist—will no longer be the assumed standard, but rather a decision made by each host according to what will be best for its Games, visitors, residents and partners.

In the case of Los Angeles, that choice is not an easy one. Four years out, LA28’s masterplan does not include an Olympic Park, so unless something drastic happens in the near future, expect something akin to Paris.

But L.A. is not Paris. It is not a relatively compact city with a strong public transportation system. It is spread out and notorious for its traffic issues. So while creating an Olympic Park would have massive repercussions from both monetary and ecological perspectives, it would benefit the Games’ corporate partners, who may not find that the “build it and they will come” approach to on-site activation works as well when visitors have to go from the Sepulveda Basin to downtown LA via freeway as opposed to a 20-minute Paris Metro ride from the Champs Elysees to Les Invalides.

However, if Paris 2024 has shown us anything, it is that Olympic partners do not lack creativity. LA28 may stretch their ability to ensure big crowds for their brand experiences, but like the athletes themselves, many sponsors appear up for the challenge.