From hot dogs in American stadiums to the Michelin-starred restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, Sodexo Live! masters the art of the splits. Specialist in catering in sports and cultural venues, the subsidiary of the Sodexo group has been selected to provide service during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at any time of the day, for athletes, spectators, employees and volunteers . Its fleet of Parisian boats will also be used. The impact of the event will extend beyond the competition, explains its president, Nathalie Bellon-Szabo.
L’Express: What does Sodexo Live! these Olympic Games?
Nathalie Bellon-Szabo: It was important for us to “win” these Olympics. We are a French company, we are in Paris. It’s our home! We faced American and British competitors. But, to hire the 6,000 people needed for reception, cooking and service, it is better to know the country, to be on site. For the group, it is a fantastic showcase of our know-how. We have worked in football, tennis and basketball stadiums around the world for more than twenty-five years and we know their audiences, but also the athletes’ diets. We have been catering for players at Roland-Garros for thirty years, and for footballers from the French team at Clairefontaine for over twenty years. During the World Cup, our chef follows the Blues on their travels. Sodexo Live! also operates at the Vélodrome de Marseille, at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, at the Caesars Superdome, the stadium of the New Orleans Saints, in the stadiums of Everton and Hampden Park, in the United Kingdom…
What will your role consist of?
We ensure the catering of the Olympic and Paralympic village and 14 competition sites, with the commitment to halve the carbon footprint of meals compared to previous editions. We are going to set up the largest restaurant in the world within the Cité du cinéma. For the first time, the village restaurant will be installed in an existing building and not in a temporary structure. The kitchens of the surrounding schools, in particular, we will serve as a logistical base.
Sodexo Live! also has 28 boats on the Seine – Bateaux parisiens, Batobus, Yachts de Paris –, 22 of which will be chartered for the opening ceremony. The first will be Don Juan II, which will transport the Greek delegation. France will bring up the rear on the Liner, the largest of our boats. Some of our prestigious sites will also be dedicated to Olympic committees, such as Pré Catelan, which will become Casa Italia during all the Games. The Maison des polytechniciens will be occupied by a major sponsor. In addition, our caterer Lenôtre will provide services for receptions in Versailles, during horse riding events, and in other competition sites.
What are the next steps ?
In a few days, we will have the keys to the Cité du cinéma, which must be fully equipped. We continue to recruit staff, particularly through “job dating” to hire the 5,000 people we need, in addition to the thousand Sodexo employees who volunteer to dedicate themselves to the Games. And our HR organization is already underway to ensure that these 6,000 employees are trained and ready from the first day of competition.
Will the event be profitable for Sodexo?
It is important that it is. We are still having discussions today with Paris 2024, because there are always unforeseen events. For example, a stronger requirement in terms of security. After these Olympic and Paralympic Games, we will reap other benefits. For us, this event will serve as a reference for our customers. We will gain visibility, many will discover our activity in France and abroad. Furthermore, this will allow us to accelerate innovations that we will deploy on our sites, such as the management of schedules using technology or“open badge”, a certification tool for acquired skills, recognized by other large groups, such as Orange or Accor, and which can be integrated into a LinkedIn profile. Finally, of the 5,000 people hired externally for the occasion, who will therefore be trained and known to our teams, a good portion will be able to be integrated into Sodexo Live! or in other Sodexo group entities. They will constitute a formidable breeding ground.
How are Sodexo Live!’s activities doing, has the health crisis been overcome?
We achieve a turnover of 1.7 billion euros, with 58% in the United States, 20% in France and 15% in the United Kingdom, the balance coming from Spain and Asia. . Twenty years ago, this amount was limited to 150 million euros, mainly in France. Last year [NDLR : de septembre 2022 à août 2023], we experienced growth of 34%. This year, despite the Olympics, the pace will not be as sustained, but the first months still show an increase of around 20%. We have largely returned to our pre-Covid activity levels. On average, in stadiums, consumer spending is 20 to 25% higher than in 2019 and attendance is increasing. The more we evolve in a virtual world, with teleworking and Teams meetings, the more people need to live memorable experiences, to meet up at the stadium, at the museum, etc.
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