WEG 2014: By the Numbers
On Friday 19 July 2013, the countdown for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy displayed the round number of D - 400 before the event starts. That equates to a little over 13 months. In the meantime though, it's's proving to be a busy summer for the event's organising committee, commencing with the official opening of the cross country course at Le Pin National Stud last Friday. Topping the current jobs list is the first phase of putting tickets on sale, the recruiting of volunteers and the coordinating of accommodation on offer to future visitors. We see the proof in facts and figures.
85,000: the number of places already purchased since the ticket office opened on 6 June 2013! This figure groups together the 30,000 places bought up by the French Equestrian Federation and those reserved by the Official Ticketing Agencies, who market packs comprising transport and accommodation overseas. As such the Organising Committee’s target of some 120,000 places sold between now and the end of the year is perfectly realistic…
3,620: the number of volunteers registered by the Organising Committee by mid-July. Another contingent of 2,250 volunteers is currently being registered. In this way, the target of 5,000 volunteers being admitted for recruitment and training, from which some 3,000 will be declared operational from this ‘hotbed of experiences’, is well on the way to being achieved. The recruitment campaign only started on 10 April, but 400 applied on the first day alone. Volunteers not yet contacted for an “Exchange Day” with the team from the Volunteer Programme, will receive written notification to attend between September and October. It is worth noting that a total of 5,000 volunteers will interviewed from the end of October through to December and candidates who live a long way from Normandy will be able to have an interview over the telephone.
80%: the percentage of national federations who have already booked their accommodation for the event. For the general public, there is a variety of accommodation on offer in Normandy: hotels, gîtes (self-catering cottages), B&Bs, camping and caravanning.
It comes as no surprise that the three Olympic disciplines, jumping, eventing and dressage, make up the top three Pass sales since the ticket office opened to the equestrian family on 6 June 2013. For the latter two events, additional passes have been created to satisfy the demand from members.
A “Road Tour” for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 has been winding its way across France and Europe since 25 June 2013. It offers entertainment, a presentation of the event and an ‘on-the-road’ ticket office for members.
To date Normans make up the bulk of the future volunteers. Logically, out of the 3,620 volunteers already registered, 36%come from Lower Normandy and 5% from Upper Normandy. The regional breakdown shows pole position going to Calvados (58%), followed by Manche and Orne (19 and 10% respectively). Seine-Maritime is hot on their heels (9%) with Eure bringing up the rear (4%).
With over a year until the opening, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 is extending its grasp to a highly international audience. Indeed no fewer than 11% of the volunteers already registered live overseas, across 17 countries, including Australia, the United States, the UK and Germany.
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