04 May 2024 , 09:16
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Third-party hospitality packages are outlawed, yet agency part-owned by associates of Rafael Nadal and LeBron James promises access to top events as well as to stars
Members of the global super-rich are spending as much as $500,000 (£400,000) on “ultra-exclusive” packages for the Paris 2024 Olympics that promoters claim include meeting athletes, access to the athletes’ village and “the chance to be part of the opening ceremony”.
GR8 Experience, an “international experience agency” part-owned by the business manager of the basketball star LeBron James and the PR manager of the tennis player Rafael Nadal, is selling Olympic packages that it claims include tickets to 14 events such as the men’s 100m finals and the opening ceremony for $381,600.
In addition to the so-called category A tickets, the agency claims it can arrange “money-can’t-buy experiences” including meet-and-greets with athletes, tours of restricted areas such as the athletes’ village, private after-hours access to the Louvre and a “king’s dinner at the Palace of Versailles”.
Barnabas Carrega, the chief executive of GR8 Experience, told the Guardian that his company was offering the super-rich “access that is not available to the public, including time with athletes”. He declined to name which athletes he had signed up, but said he had previously arranged private events with Nadal and fellow tennis star Novak Djokovic, and the former Italian Olympic skier Giorgio Rocca.
“For the Olympics there are a couple of tennis players,” he said. “And a number of athletes in different sports, but I am not able to name specific athletes.”
Asked about the cost of the meetings, he said it would “depend on the structure of the meeting”, which he said varied from “15 minutes taking photos and a quick chat to others that are much more engaged … spending lunch”. The price, he said, ranged from $25,000 to $500,000 “if we’re talking about one of the best athletes spending a lot of time”.
Carrega said he was “very selective” about which athletes his company worked with and said some might not provide the experience customers were looking for. “Some athletes with a huge name, but [might] not have the charisma needed for the clients, others provide a true experience,” he said. “They [the athletes] need to seem like they want to be there, not saying ‘hi’ but then in five minutes it’s obvious they want to get away.”
He claimed that in the past his company – which is part owned by James’s business partner and manager, Maverick Carter, and Nadal’s PR manager, Benito Perez-Barbadillo – had arranged for a client to spend almost a week with Nadal including watching a game from the player’s box, and for another client to play a match against Djokovic.
Carrega also claimed that he could sell access to be “part of the Olympic ceremony”. While the Olympics’ official corporate hospitality partner, On Location, offers “Riverside Gold Package” tickets to watch the opening ceremony for €7,500 (£5,980), before tax, along the Seine, Carrega said he was able to provide access “inside the Trocadéro” where the main part of the ceremony will take place overlooking the Eiffel Tower. “You cannot buy this. You have to utilise your relationship with the athletes’ families and the [country] delegations.”
He said he had six to eight spaces available for the opening ceremony that would cost about $25,000 each, and had already sold some to a long-term client with ultra-high net worth. “Obviously at this price point you have to be a very qualified person to want to spend that money,” he said. “It is the money-can’t-buy access, the inaccessible level to something very, very unique and special.”
The Paris 2024 organising committee said On Location was the only “official and exclusive hospitality provider for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024”.
“Any entity selling ticket-inclusive hospitality packages, which is not an official sub-distributor of On Location, is doing so unlawfully,” it said in a statement. “Access to the athletes’ village or to participate in the Opening Ceremony is not ticketed and authorised only to those with a valid accreditation. Anyone accessing the village or the opening ceremony will be subject to multiple security checks.”
An International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson said anyone buying tickets or hospitality packages outside the official channels “runs the risk that tickets or packages are not delivered to them or the access will be denied by the Paris 2024 organising committee in accordance with the terms and conditions”.
On Location said: “Any unofficial third parties reselling hospitality tickets and packages are doing so against Paris 2024 and On Location terms and conditions and likely acting against local laws. Most importantly, they are jeopardising the experience for fans, as resold tickets and packages are being identified for cancellation as part of an extensive enforcement programme being rolled out ahead of the Paris Games.”
GR8 is promoting the tickets in a detailed document sent to ultra-high net worth individuals, seen by the Guardian. When asked for more details a spokesperson for the agency said: “No, GR8 does not sell Olympics tickets. As On Location mentioned, they are not an official ticket seller.
“On-site, because of the calibre of their clientele (existing ticket holders/buyers with exclusive rights) and GR8’s connections, they are able to facilitate meet-and-greets of key athletes. They sell and facilitate experiences around Olympic events, eg stays at the most exclusive hotels, VIP transportation, private cultural visitations and exclusive culinary experiences all around the sporting event.”
“The screenshot you reference is part of this information deck created by GR8 for a specific family who inquired about going to Paris. GR8 lists an estimated budget for the entire experience, which includes a range of anticipated ticket costs – customary for all its itineraries.
“When a prospective client decides to proceed with a given itinerary, GR8 connects them with an official reseller to obtain any necessary tickets. Note that the deck states: ‘No bookings have been made at the present time; we will provide final numbers upon availability and client’s final approval.’”