Global Communication Division: France Business Trip Report — Going Behind the Scenes at GL events, the Driving Force Behind Major Global Events!

SSU Global Communication Div. News — Vol. 2 —
*English follows Japanese (this blog is also provided in English).

Hello there! How are you? I am Yumiko Fujioka from the Global Communication Division.
Our mission is not only to create excitement in Japan through major festivals and events that draw global attention, but also to create and share “fun and buzz” around the world (see our previous blog here). One of our major projects is our joint venture with GL events, a comprehensive event company based in France.

http://www.ssu.co.jp/news/2018/03/19/3522/

In this blog, we will report on how members of the Global Communication Division visited GL events’ headquarters for an inspection tour!

GL events’ headquarters is located in Lyon, France—about two hours from Paris by TGV (France’s high-speed rail). Located in central France, Lyon is the country’s second-largest metropolitan area after Paris.

■ Going Behind the Scenes at GL events!
Since its founding in 1978, GL events has built an extensive track record in planning and development, construction, and event operations for large-scale events around the world. As the “driving force behind major global events,” it is a comprehensive event company unlike any other. When our members arrived at headquarters, the morning sun illuminated the dazzling, all-glass building, creating a glamorous start to the day!

In contrast to the gleaming exterior, the office interior makes a bold statement with the brand’s signature red. Around 2,000 people work here, and the massive atrium makes it feel truly “well-ventilated.” *As it happened, the day of our visit was a French national holiday, so there were hardly any people in the office.
Staff lounge. As expected, it is different from Japan—simple yet stylish. Plenty of light also pours in through the glass windows here.
View from the rooftop terrace. With its great outlook, it is often used for in-house events and parties welcoming overseas partners.

■ An Attractive Venue × the Power of PR = Infinite “Let’s Have Fun!”
After being shown around headquarters, we visited the nearby rugby stadium Matmut Stadium as an example of GL events’ expertise in constructing and operating event venues. GL events has invested several hundred million yen and has been entrusted by the city with operating rights for a long term of 66 years.

Naturally, GL events handled the stadium setup as well. In addition, they installed temporary tents around the venue, creating event spaces for families and players, as well as training spaces for athletes. The construction quality is so high you would never think it is “temporary,” and they provide a full package of venue-related facilities.
GL events’ stockyard is also vast. Setup materials shipped to countries around the world are managed and controlled here.
Materials being transported to new event sites visited by many people.
This tour clearly demonstrated the high level of expertise GL events has in constructing and operating event venues!

When an “attractive venue” that draws many visitors is combined with the “power of PR” that creates a compelling reason to go, it should generate limitless “fun and buzz.” In the Global Communication Division, we work hard every day to maximize that “fun and buzz.”

From next time, we will gradually introduce our members as well, so please look forward to it!

Hello, again! This is Yumiko FUJIOKA from the Global Communication Division.
SSU announced our partnership with GL events, one of the world’s largest events company, in March 2018.

http://www.ssu.co.jp/eng/news/2018/03/19/601/

Today, I will share the tour report from some of our members who visited GL events’ headquarters during their trip to France. GL events headquarters is located in Lyon, France. It takes approximately 2 hours on the TGV from Paris and is the second largest city in France.

Since GL events was founded in 1978, it has been involved in the planning, development, construction and management of large-scale events around the globe.

The headquarters building is covered with glass and is very shiny.

Inside the building, a well-lighted stairwell with an impact of red which is their brand color. There are approximately 2,000 staff working in this office.

*On the day of our visit, it was a French national holiday and very few people were there.

The staff lounge is very simple but stylish – very spacious and different from what we would see in Japan.

This is the roof-top terrace. It has a great view and is often used for receptions and internal parties as well.

We then visited the Matmut stadium which shows a good example of GL events’ skills in planning, development, construction and management of large-scale event venues.

GL invested more than several hundred million euros, and manages and operates the venue on behalf of the city of Lyon.

GL events was responsible for constructing the stadium, as well as some temporary tents for parties, ceremonies and other events for players, families and sponsors.

The quality of these structures is very high, and you may not believe they are “temporary”!

And of course, their stock yard was really huge! They control all the building materials to be delivered globally. All materials are to be shipped in this container…

During this inspection tour, we observed first hand GL’s unsurpassable skill for the development, construction and management of large-scale events and venues.

We strongly believe that there will be infinite possibilities to “Let’s Have Fun!” by combining GL’s skills and SSU’s knowledge within the industry.

All the members of the Global Communication Division will continue our efforts to maximize the fun and buzz for our clients.

I will introduce our members in the next blog. See you next time!