They include meetings with athletes and access to the Olympic village: there are exclusive packages for the Olympic Games with prices up to 500 thousand dollars

There are “ultra-exclusive” packages for the Paris Olympic Games taking place during the summer of this year for prices reaching up to 500 thousand dollars (around 465 thousand euros) and which promise meetings with the athletes, access to the Olympic village and chance to enter the opening ceremony, reports “The Guardian”.

GR8 Experience, an “international experience agency” partially owned by basketball player LeBron James’ business manager and tennis player Rafael Nadal’s public relations manager, is one of the companies selling these packages. The agency says its packages include tickets for 14 events, such as the men’s 100 meters, finals and opening ceremony for $381,000 (354,000 euros).

The agency also says that it can organize certain experiences, such as meetings with athletes, tours in restricted areas, such as the athletes’ village, private tours, a few hours of access to the Louvre and a “king’s dinner at the Palace of Versailles”. Barnabas Carrega, leader of GR8 Experience, told the newspaper that he has already organized meetings at private events with tennis players Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and with former Italian Olympic skier Giorgio Rocca. The price of these meetings varies between 25 thousand and 500 thousand dollars (23 and 465 thousand euros).

Carrega revealed that, in the past, the company arranged for a client to spend almost a week with Nadal, including watching a game from the player’s box and that another client played against Djokovic.

The official tourism partner of the Olympic Games, On Location, has “Riverside Gold Package” tickets to attend the opening ceremony for 7500 euros (excluding tax) along the Seine, but Carrega revealed to the newspaper that it was able to provide access “ inside the Trocadero” (garden overlooking the Eiffel Tower, where the main part of the ceremony will take place). To this end, it guarantees to have up to eight places available, which should cost 25 thousand dollars each (23 thousand euros).

The Paris Olympic Games organizing committee said On Location was the only “official and exclusive hospitality provider for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games”. “Any entity that sells packages with tickets included, other than an official On Location sub-distributor, is doing so illegally,” he said, in a statement cited by “The Guardian”. “Access to the athletes’ village or to participate in the Opening Ceremony is not with a ticket and is only authorized for those with valid credentials.”

A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said anyone purchasing tickets or packages outside of official channels “runs the risk that the tickets or packages will not be delivered or access will be denied by the Paris 2024 organizing committee”.

On Location warned that companies reselling these packages are doing so “against the terms and conditions of the Paris 2024 Games and On Location and are likely acting against local laws”. “More importantly, they are compromising the fan experience, as resold tickets and packages are being identified for cancellation as part of an extensive enforcement program being implemented ahead of the Paris Games.”

GR8 says it is acting legally, only providing experiences around the Olympic Games and does not sell tickets directly. Regarding an email that “The Guardian” had access to, which said that customers would have access to tickets for various events, the agency says that “it is part of a set of information created for a specific family who asked about the possibility of going to Paris.” When purchasing the tickets in question, the company “connects [a família ou o cliente] to the official dealer”.