Provision To Bring Ryder Cup To Downtown Paris
Provision Events (PVE) has been appointed by the French Golf Federation (FFG) to deliver a Ryder Cup experience for fans and tourists in central Paris.
The UK-based experiential sport specialist will work with local organisers to implement a two-week activation in front of the Hotel de Ville in the heart of the French capital.
The project is designed to help bring golf to a wider audience in France, which is hosting the Ryder Cup this month for the first time in the country’s history.
PSE is undertaking what it describes as one of the biggest projects in its history, which will complement the action at Le Golf National venue, an hour outside of the capital.
The 3,200sqm city-centre fan zone will feature a big screen showing coverage of the Ryder Cup action, with activities including golf simulators, a 100ft putt, kidzone, chipping and bunker areas, free golf lessons and replica putting course of the last 4 holes of the Ryder Cup course.
Nick Clemens, co-founder of PVE, commented: “This isn’t our first Ryder Cup but it’s certainly our biggest. It’s always special to be involved in the Ryder Cup but to create something of this scale and technical complexity in the heart of Paris really is a hugely exciting prospect and a resounding endorsement of our ability to deliver fan experiences on the biggest stage.”
The promise of connecting new audiences to golf was a key pillar of the French bid to host the 2018 tournament. Olivier Denis-Massé, managing director of communication, media, marketing and partnerships at FFG explained: “When we first bid to host the Ryder cup eight years ago, a fan zone was an important part of the global project. A lot of Parisians will not go to Le Golf national and we wanted to offer the chance to watch the Ryder Cup downtown and for those who have never played golf to experience the excitement of the event. This is also an opportunity for our clubs to meet potential new golfers and provide the opportunity for them to play the game.”
On the appointment of PVE, Denis-Massé added: “In order to make the downtown fan zone successful we have chosen PVE as a stakeholder as we’ve seen what they have done for major golf events around the world. It has been key in our decision making process to have a skilled and experienced company which understood clearly our brief and gave us the best proposal, based on their experience.”
Provision Events was founded in 2004 by two PGA Professionals; Nick Clemens & Konrad Brochocki. The agency has grown to include offices in the UK, USA and UAE, with a client portfolio comprising sports governing bodies, event owners and promoters, as well as major brands.
