The Vendée Globe start village: regulations, access, events, exhibitions and access areas on start day
Today Tuesday, Yves Auvinet, President of the SAEM Vendée, which organises the Vendée Globe, in the presence of Yannick Moreau, Mayor of Les Sables d'olonne, officially opened the e-ticketing system that will enable visitors to access the Vendée Globe Start Village with health and safety regulations approved by the state and special events being organised in the Start Village.
Four concrete measures were announced in the context of the popular success of this ninth edition.
Registration is compulsory and available for free
Since 3 p.m. on Tuesday 6th October, the ticket office for the Vendée Globe Start Village has been open to the general public for those who want to discover the 33 boats that will set sail and the special events in the Village. It is necessary to register and reserve your time slot, if you wish to visit the Village.
E-ticketing is available online on the official website, vendeeglobe.org. The Tourist Office in Les Sables d’Olonne will be on hand to offer assistance to those who want to reserve.
This reservation system will ensure the maximum numbers allowed at events open to the general public is respected. That limit is set at 5000 at any one time in the village.
In order to allow as many fans and visitors as possible to enter the Village, everyone will have to choose their day and time depending on the half-hour slots that remain available. An e-ticket will allow you a 3-hour stay in the Village.
Once they have their e-ticket, visitors are requested to respect this time frame of three hours in order to allow everyone to make the most of their visit.
Strict health rules approved
The health rules set up by the SAEM Vendée have been approved by the relevant authorities. Alongside e-ticketing and crowd management, the following measures are being put in place: everyone over the age of 11 must wear a mask; distancing rules are to be respected, hand sanitizers will be available, indoor areas will be well aired; a one-way system will be set in the outside areas of the Village, pontoons and indoor areas.
You can view all of the protocol that has been approved by the State here.
The main areas on start day unveiled
The SAEM Vendée, the host town of Les Sables d'Olonne and the state authorities collaborated yesterday to agree the main areas on start day, on November 8.
The public will be allowed to access the legendary Sables d'Olonne Channel by following rules and access conditions similar to those of the Departure Village: online reservations, wearing a mask and respecting barrier gestures.
A first onshore allocation of 9,000 people around the Channel, structured around two bubbles - one of 5,000 people on the Chaume side and one of 4,000 people on the Les Sables d'Olonne side - is being developed with authorities. A second bubble on the water of 5,000 people will be allocated for passenger vessels chartered to watch the start.
A Village will be open and even more responsible
Taking into account the public health concerns which have affected the whole world since the start of the year, the good news is that the Start Village will indeed be in place, thanks to all those involved in the Vendée Globe and the various official bodies.
Open to the public after registration and reservation, the Village will ensure that the link between the race and the local area remains in place and that the Vendée Globe will once again be a popular event.
On the Vendée Globe Esplanade that has been entirely renovated, various places are being set up for visits:
- The Vendée exhibition area: 1200 m2 to explore the Village thanks to tools developed for all types of visitor. It will present a special display around seven topics to explain the race and inform people about the Ocean. A wide range of materials and displays with special videos, big screen projections, pictures, a highly original decoration and maritime sound effects…
With around fifty films presenting the skippers, the race, its history, life aboard an IMOCA… as well as the vendee.fr and vendeeglobejunior.fr websites, the Department wanted to ensure that this race may still be followed by everyone in spite of this very tricky period and in particular by those who cannot attend events in the village in Les Sables d’Olonne.
- Exhibitor’s area: around 2200 m2 with 29 stands set up for partners and sponsors and the official shop.
- The VOG Bar, a Vendée Globe Institution, ideally located overlooking the legendary race pontoon.
- Race HQ, where the organisers will be based throughout the event, is alongside
- The Globe ‘Carré’ area will be used for business conferences during the start period and will become the radio reports centre from the day after the start, hosting the LIVE broadcast show every day at 1230 hrs CET in French and the International show at 1330hrs. These shows will be open to the public.
Alongside the Quai de la Gravière, apart from the opportunity to visit an Imoca, the public will also be able to discover:
- The Vendée Cookery area will cover 160 m² and will allow visitors to discover all the local specialities and a wide range of products.
- The tourist office will present the major attractions, leisure activities and sites of special interest in Vendée in a 440m² area.
Boulevard Vertime and Allée du Frère Maximin will be home to stands for the events’ sponsors, a giant zip-line and food trucks.
Alongside the former sailors’ winery, Media HQ and the hospitality Village will be set up. Small boxes and meeting rooms, a bar and restaurant – accessible by reservation – will also be set up in this BtoB area.
A more responsible village
The organisers wanted to highlight the importance of making young people aware of the the need to protect the oceans. That will in particular be the case in the Vendée display area with educational displays in the framework of the Junior Vendée Globe. The general public will also be able to visit a large exhibition on the Allée du Frère Maximin about protecting the oceans in conjunction with UNESCO, the Principality of Monaco and skippers in the IMOCA class.
Various concrete measures will be applied in the Village including the signing and establishment of:
- A charter confirming the responsible approach taken by exhibitors to enable those involved in the village to join in with these arrangements.
- A partnership with Trivalis and Ecomégot to underline the importance of waste separation schemes
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