FLASH INFO FRANCE 98

Work starts on the International Media Centre Alteration work started at the beginning of February on the International Media Centre (CIM) at the Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles, in Paris. Between 1 June and 13 July, the Centre will be welcoming the 12,000 members of the media accredited for the World Cup. The work on the 33,000 m2 of Paris Expo's Halls 5, 6 and 8 will take four months to complete. The first phase of the alterations involves the International Broadcasting Centre for radio and television, the complex housing the central TV compound through which all TV images of the forthcoming World Cup will be transmitted. It will also contain all the studios and offices for the 250 radio and television stations covering the event. Among other things, 16,000 m2 of partitions, 200 km of video cables and 120 tonnes of air conditioning conduits will be needed for the alterations, which are being carried out by TVRS 98, FRANCE 98's host broadcaster. The CIM, directed by Essar Gabriel, will consist of three operating entities: the Main Press Centre (CPP), the International Broadcasting Centre (CIRTV) and the Main Accreditation Centre (CPA). For the first time in the history of the World Cup, all the facilities for television, radio, the print media and photographers will be brought together under the same roof.

Toulouse : opening of the Stadium's south stand The Stadium's brand new south stand opened to the public on Friday 13 February for the match between Toulouse Football Club and Olympique de Marseille. The capacity of the "rose-red" city's stadium has now increased to 37,000 all seated.

European police authorities meet in England In Blackburn, England, on 27 February, Dominique Spinosi, head of Security for FRANCE 98, and René-Georges Querry, head of Security for DICOM (Interministerial Delegation to the World Cup) will be taking part in a seminar on security in stadiums organised by the British Home Office. The theme will be "The Policing of Football." Dominique Spinosi will then attend two football matches to get a flavour of how the English go about enforcing security in their stadiums. The British Home Office's seminar in Blackburn will bring together police officers from all over Europe as well as several specialists in stadium security. Dominique Spinosi will be speaking during the seminar on the security measures programmed for the FRANCE 98 World Cup. Then she will make an appearance "in the field" with a delegation of French police officers to gather first-hand information on how the English authorities cope with security problems. On Saturday 28 February she will attend a match between two teams from the Premier league, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City. On Sunday 29th, she will travel to Nottingham to see the Nottingham Forest - Middlesbrough game. Dominique Spinosi's trip forms part of the special co-operation between British and French authorities initiated at a meeting in Paris on 14 January this year.

Individual Prestige Argent and Or seats As from 1 February, the Prestige (Argent and Or) seats on offer in the World Cup stadiums are now available as individual match by match tickets. These seats, which come with a range of hospitality services, were originally only on offer as group reservations for all the matches in the first round and the round of sixteen in any one stadium. Specially designed for companies wishing to develop their public relations activities during the World Cup, the FRANCE 98 Prestige Seats are also available to individual customers in France and abroad. They are being sold exclusively by the French Organising Committee. The Prestige Argent package consists of an excellent seat in the stands, a gift, the match programme and a drink on arrival in the Prestige Area, as well as special access to the Jules Rimet Circle (exclusive club) and Mondiresa, the World Cup hotel reservation centre. The Prestige Or includes all the Prestige Argent privileges, plus a meal served in the Prestige area and a parking space (I per 4 Prestige Or seats purchased). Although 10 matches are already sold out in this seat category, including the Opening match and the Final, some Prestige Or and Argent tickets are still available for the 54 other matches. Prices depend on the category, the match and the stadium, and start at FF 1,700 (excluding tax). Reservations exclusively with the French Organising Committee Tel. : 01 44 14 10 60 / Fax : 01 44 14 10 70

2,200,000 visitors to FRANCE98.com The Official Website of the 16th World Cup (www.france98.com) is proving to be a roaring success and has just clocked up 2,200,000 visitors. Since it opened on 6 May 1997 (D-400), the site has recorded more than 130 million hits from 160 different countries, cyber travellers from the United States, Japan, France, England and Brazil being the most frequent visitors.

12,000 volunteers "Discover FRANCE 98" The training of the 12,000 FRANCE 98 volunteers has begun at the 11 official World Cup venues. Between 31 January (Lyon venue) and 14 March (Marseille venue), all the volunteers will have taken part in their first on-the-spot training, called "Discover FRANCE 98". This first session is intended to familiarise all the "helpers" with what the World Cup involves, and introduce them to their venue management team. The training programme promises to be a lively occasion, with the FRANCE 98 organising staff cast as entertainers in a show. And before the competition kicks off, all the volunteers are to benefit from two more training modules, one devoted to the specific venue where they'll be working, and the other given over to the actual jobs they'll be doing during the event. In all, the volunteer programme will mean some 200,000 training hours involving more than a thousand trainers.

Everything you need to know about FRANCE 98 A new brochure destined for the football-loving public has just been issued by the French Organising Committee for the World Cup. There are 500,000 copies of the brochure published in three languages (English, French and Spanish), and its eight pages will include all the key information on FRANCE 98: qualified nations, times and dates for the 64 games, the programme, facts and figures, and so on. You will be able to pick up a copy of the brochure at the 11 FRANCE 98 venues or at the Tourist Offices in the 10 host cities.

A seminar for the FRANCE 98 Commercial Affiliates Between 10 and 12 February in Paris, the Marketing/Partnership department of the French Organising Committee brought together the companies that form the FRANCE 98 Commercial Affiliate programme for three working seminars, during which representatives from the 8 "Official Suppliers", the 9 "Official Products and Services" and the 16 "Official Equipment Suppliers" were briefed on operating plans during the World Cup. Welcome services, hospitality villages, accreditation systems, safety and security, the competition programme and IT (including the Website) were all on the agenda at the various work seminars.

"Football for everyone in Aquitaine 98" Created by the Aquitaine Football League, the "Football for everyone in Aquitane 98" initiative was the subject of a press conference given on 20 February at 11.30 am at the Hotel de Région de Bordeaux. "Football for everyone in Aquitane 98" is a senior's five-a-side tournament open to registered and non-registered players. Five regional tournaments will qualify teams to play the Final at the Place des Quinconces on 15 June 1998.

Nearer to the Parc The Paris venue is on the move! The venue team, overseen by Jean-François Cottin, are moving out of the French Organising Committee offices in Paris to set up shop at 63, rue de l'Est in Boulogne Billancourt, just a few hundred metres away from the Parc des Princes. Six of the sixty-four World Cup matches are to be played at the Parc des Princes including the third place play-off game on Saturday 11 July at 9 p.m. The new telephone number for the venue is (33) 1 55 38 19 98

The media in the front row Print media journalists for FRANCE 98 will have 1,750 seats made available to them for the Opening Match and the World Cup Final in the Stade de France on 10 June and 12 July respectively. Their 462 radio and TV counterparts will have 154 commentary positions available to them, as well as 100 places for photographers and 250 radio and TV observation seats. The 2,562 members of the media will occupy the equivalent of 5,645 "general public" seats.