Paris MPC, very elegant and efficient, but it could face challenges due to overcrowding in the next few days

Renowned for hosting more than 200 national and international events each year, including the famous Notre Dame de Paris musical in 1998, the Palais des Congres de Paris currently houses the Main Press Centre of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The MPC became fully operational on Saturday July 20 after a soft launch 11 days earlier.

A large portion of the elegant, modern and technological advanced facility has been equipped to meet the work needs of thousands of written press and photographers from all over the world during the Olympic Games.

THREE LEVELS There are three levels, with the communal press workroom and photo workroom, furnished with TV screens and lockers, occupying the second floor. As usual, major agencies like AFP, Reuters, AP and Getty Images have their private offices, which serve as the engine room of their Olympic coverage. The MPC also has several help desks and a food court.

PRESS CONFERENCE ROOMS Each level has at least one press conference room named after the most famous rivers in France, La Garonne, Le Rhone, La Loire and La Seine. One of the amphitheatres on the third floor – the 650-seater Bordeaux - is the main press conference room, La Seine, in which, on Sunday morning, around 100 journalists listened to Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet speak for 40 minutes about preparations and expectations for the Games as well as the legacy they will leave behind. “Our role as the Organising Committee was to set the strong vision from the beginning with two main objectives in mind and make sure that everyone is part of the delivery to have success on the two main objectives; spectacular Games, but also responsible Games.”

CRUCIAL DAYS During the AIPS Centennial Congress in Santa Susanna in April, Marie Depecker, the Director of Broadcast and Press Operations for the Paris 2024, shared that 3,800 members of the written press, 1,700 photographers and 575 non-rights holders have been accredited for the Olympics. In the following days, just before the Opening Ceremony, the MPC will be bustling as usual. However, the challenge is, there are 300 places for the written press and 100 for photographers in the MPC and these for sure will not be enough, because there will be a big crowd of colleagues. We hope that a magical solution will be found to avoid some natural tensions present in every beginning. The two days before the Opening Ceremony are very crucial and we underline, a solution has to be found for the expected influx. After the opening, when competitions are fully underway, journalists will largely be in the field and so the situation will be managed.

Unlike at Tokyo 2020 where the MPC and IBC (International Broadcast Centre) were both at the Tokyo Big Sight, in Paris the latter is located at the Le Bourget Exhibition Centre.

 Chibuogwu Nnadiegbulam - AIPS Media, Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images