Arc red carpet rolled out for British and Irish visitors
Organisers are sparing no effort to ensure the traditional British and Irish contingent at Longchamp for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe are well catered for, with discount ticket offers and a promise to put more betting operators in place all part of the drive to shore up the visiting vote.
Nearly 8,000 of the 33,000 people to walk through the fabled wrought-iron gates over the two days of the 2022 meeting came from Britain and Ireland and France Galop is keen to ensure those sorts of numbers are repeated before a 2023 Arc which, in terms of storylines, could match the hugely popular victory of Luke Morris, Sir Mark Prescott and Kirsten Rausing with Alpinista 12 months ago.
France Galop's commercial and marketing director Delphine Violette said ticket sales outside France were marginally behind where they were at the same stage last year, although the full weight of the advertising spend on the Arc is yet to be deployed.
After two years of Covid-19 disruption, 2022 was a chance for racegoers to reacquaint themselves with what is still a relatively new version of Longchamp, and Violette is confident her teams now have a good handle on what anglophone customers want out of their day.
Pick your spot: the new Longchamp grandstand moments before the start of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Violette said: "We know the British and Irish visitors really enjoy the winning post enclosure; they want that access that allows them to look out over the parade ring as well as get a great view of the racing.
"We have an offer we have emailed to existing customers which runs until September 16; a ticket in that enclosure for both days is €60 in place of €80 with a discount code, while the Saturday is €20 as opposed to €30 and Sunday is €40 instead of €65."
France Galop has also extended its deal with Racing Breaks as the preferred supplier of bespoke packages to the Arc and other key meetings in France.
On the subject of cutting down on waiting times, Violette added: "We are making efforts to increase the number of people taking bets in order to limit the queues, and I see that as a big priority."
On both days the on-course MCs will divide their time equally between animating proceedings in English and French, while much of the digital content around the race will be aimed at international audiences.
Playing days: former Arsenal and France star Robert Pires will be the official ambassador to this year's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
"We will be featuring two influencers in Stephen Power – the Racing Blogger – and former Arsenal midfielder and World Cup winner Robert Pires, who is the official ambassador to the race," said Violette. "Robert will take viewers behind the scenes on the day of the race and will bring the action closer to both those on track and those watching from home."
Pires should be an upgrade on some celebrity faces who have been attached to sporting events in the past, since he has actually owned a runner in the Arc; Tangaspeed arguably outran her odds of 500-1 to finish 11th to Sea The Stars in 2009.
Violette added: "In the past it’s a shame that we’ve only been able to highlight the international runners once they make landfall in France and this year we have a filming and content team that will follow the fortunes of some of the British runners in the build-up to the race."
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