Do better with less.

This is the leitmotif of the mayor of Marseille, Benoit Payan, and the director of the Organizing Committee for the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023, Claude Atcher regarding the hosting of the six matches of this competition in Marseille, between September and October 2023.

“It was essential for us to renegotiate the bill in the face of the catastrophic state of the city's finances.

I would like to thank Claude Atcher who listened to us and understood our expectations.

Thanks to this work in collaboration with the Organizing Committee and various partnerships, we have managed to halve the bill: it goes from 7 million euros to 3.5 ”, announced Benoit Payan.

"A reasonable organization"

An announcement that follows the open letter sent by Benoit Payan to Claude Achter in September 2020 to renegotiate the terms of the contract signed by the previous majority and the too many concessions made to the organizers.

But these savings will not result in "a decrease in quality" for this "first major post-covid event", as the mayor recalled.

With Claude Achter, they imagine "a reasonable organization for the acceptability of this kind of event", while the hosting of the next Olympics in Tokyo arouses a wave of protest in the host country.

"New generation sporting events"

“We have the ambition to ensure that the reception of the Rugby World Cup is rooted in social issues.

To demonstrate that this sporting event has a meaning, we want to be precursors in the organization of sporting events of new generations.

A reciprocal desire with the town hall, ”explained Claude Achter.

The organizing committee aims for social impact with the hiring, since March, of 400 apprentices in training courses related to sport, tourism, and even security.

"We made the government bow to this training in security, which did not exist", rejoices Claude Achter.

And 400 young apprentices, that's still cheaper than 400 employees.

They also hope that the event will leave lasting traces in the Marseille landscape.

Match France Algeria?

On the field side, the matches of the Rugby World Cup in Marseille, there will be six as a reminder, are already a success from a ticketing point of view. “We sold a million tickets in the space of three afternoons, with almost 4,000 tickets sold per minute which is unprecedented. For the matches of the first round in Marseille, 85% of the tickets are sold, with for example already 58,000 tickets sold out of 64,000 for the first match ”, welcomed Claude Achter. About 38% of the tickets were bought by the British, compared to 32% by the French. And no more hotel rooms are available in Marseille on the nights of the first weekend, and of the weekend of the quarter-finals via the booking center of the organizing committee.

The city of Marseille and Claude Achter hope for a "rise in power" before the World Cup, with why not the organization of a France Algeria match at the Velodrome stadium.

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  • Sport

  • Velodrome stadium

  • Benoît Payan

  • Rugby World Cup

  • Marseilles

  • Rugby