How far has the metamorphosis of Paris Expo Porte de Versailles got?
The programme is on schedule. Started in 2015Renovation work is scheduled for completion in 2023. Following the opening last year of Paris Convention Centre - the largest of its kind in Europe - which marked the end of phase 1, we immediately set about phase 2 which will be completed next summer. It will culminate in the re-creation of a new pavilion 6, with a canopy designed by Jean Nouvel, and on the roof of which will be a 1.5 hectare urban farm, the largest rooftop urban farm in the world. Two hotels are also under construction, a Mama Shelter and a Novotel designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
Has the launch of the Paris Convention Centre been a success?
The gamble of creating a very large convention centre connected to exhibition spaces was the right one. The venue has hosted eight events since it opened, and 28 are already scheduled to take place between now and 2023. It meets the needs of today's major international events. We've had medical conferences, but also a lot of tech companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon.
Could synergies be developed with the recently renovated Issy-les-Moulineaux Convention Centre?
During events at Porte de Versailles, there is often a demand for venues that can host side events. This means possible synergies with this convention centre. However, with its amphitheatre seating a thousand people, its two exhibition areas and its ten or so meeting rooms, it will have a life of its own. It's a convention centre on a human scale, offering the right mix of technology to meet the demands of today's organisers and respect for a history dating back to the 1930s. This Art Deco venue has had many lives: it has been a conservatory, a courthouse, a concert hall where Dalida, Coluche and more recently Jamel Debbouze and soon Manu Payet have performed.
The latest news from Viparis includes the launch of French Event Booster, an innovation platform for the events industry.
French Event Booster was inaugurated two months ago at the heart of the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre. The facility was designed with a round-table of all the industry players in mind: event organiser WeYou, one of Europe's leading providers of technical services for shows and events, the Novelty/Magnum group and the professional federation LÉVÉNEMENT, in addition to two partners, Unimev, the Union Française des Métiers de l'Evénement, and OpenEvents, an IT services company dedicated to events and venues hosting the public. Having brought together six major players in the industry, having found 11 start-ups that we think will create value, hosting 30 coworkers and a school, bringing industry together around innovationAll this in just over a year, which is no mean feat. This innovation platform, which includes a section dedicated to incubating start-ups, as well as coworking facilities and a school dedicated to the events industry, will provide a platform for experimentation.
The challenge with French Event Booster is to be able to stand out from the crowd in this changing world.
Is it essential to find new solutions, particularly technological ones?
Like all sectors, the congress market is becoming increasingly global and digital. Without even talking about being überised, the challenge with French Event Booster is to be able to stand out in this changing world, where organisers, visitors and exhibitors have different expectations. This platform should serve to accelerate all innovation projects We need to find solutions in terms of content services and technology, to give the industry the means to take control of its destiny collectively.
Has such an initiative already been carried out in other major conference cities?
Not to my knowledge. Many organisers of world conferences and major tech events have come to see this experiment. This venue receives a very favourable reception. There is both a desire to accelerate through innovation and to enhance the attractiveness of the destination. It's proof that Paris has got its act together and that the events industry is getting its act together too. The aim is to create Differentiating France in the face of European and global competition.
What other projects is Viparis currently working on?
We are concluding discussions with the City of Paris with a view to the extension of the Porte Maillot Convention Centre in Pariswhich will complement the Paris Convention Centre for events bringing together fewer than 10,000 people. We will be able to present the project early next year. Delivery is scheduled for the 2024 Olympic Games, like many other pieces of equipment in Paris. Viparis, with its venues that do not require new buildings - handball and table tennis at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the press centre at the Paris Le Bourget exhibition centre - was also an advantage for the city's bid.
