Hospitality & Catering: A look behind the scenes

The 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE spent two years working on the most modern and successful Official Hospitality Programme of a UEFA EURO ever. From Historic sporting moments to unforgettable fan experiences, everything was there.

The UEFA EURO 2024™ in Germany set new standards for sports entertainment, hospitality and catering. The second largest sporting event in the world this year captivated millions of fans from all over the world. For the first time in the history of the UEFA EURO, UEFA outsourced the marketing, design and catering of the commercial hospitality programme to an external partner: The company was awarded the contract as the exclusive global Official Hospitality Provider for UEFA EURO 2024™ in Germany in October 2022 following a detailed and transparent tendering process.

The hospitality area in the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK was also full to bursting during the matches. Image: Christof Koepsel - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

The 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE set a new sales record right off the bat: with 85,000 guests in the Official Hospitality Programme, a new record was set, underlining the size and importance of the event. In addition to selling the hospitality packages, 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE planned and activated the entire interior design, catering and entertainment programme for the 51 matches in 10 cities for around 85,000 customers over four weeks. In addition to the offer in the arenas, numerous off-site events with international guests in the host cities were also realised - all considering the sustainability criteria specified by UEFA for the tournament.

UEFA EURO 2024™ catering - always at a consistently high level

A total of four main product categories were offered (Club Lounge, Prestige Lounge, Platinum Lounge and private Skybox) with an increasing range of services. The major challenge here was that catering had to be provided at a consistently high level in all ten stadiums under different conditions - and above the already high level of catering that is normally provided in the VIP areas at Bundesliga matches in these stadiums.

The number of service staff was high due to the large crowds in the stadiums. Image: Stadionwelt

In order to guarantee the smooth running of the official hospitality catering at this major event, the hospitality managers at 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE called on a large number of external employees during the tournament phase: over the course of the 51 matches, more than 2,500 hostesses and hosts were deployed, as well as almost 3,000 service staff, 2,000 chefs and 550 bartenders. The catering team was supported by 650 logistics staff and 500 floor managers and supervisors. The following challenge had to be solved: Where to get all this labour in times of a shortage of skilled workers in the catering industry?

In line with the economic sustainability required by UEFA, the 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE utilised the expertise, personnel and existing suppliers of those caterers who also provide the hospitality areas of the individual stadiums during the Bundesliga season. This significantly simplified processes, increased efficiency, had a positive impact on costs and conserved resources.

Good timing is everything - not only on the pitch, but also in catering

A digital tool was developed in advance to train and coordinate the external staff for the respective assignment and a training app was made available to the catering partners. This contained detailed descriptions, images, videos and information on dishes, wines and spirits, which they could use on site or pass on to guests. There was also information on the routes in the individual stadiums and the service timeline.

The final of the tournament took place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Image: UEFA

This service timeline was one of the key elements in the agile logistics of the Official Hospitality Catering for UEFA EURO 2024™. It utilised the planning framework provided by the official time frame of the football matches. No matter what time a match was scheduled, everyone knew the detailed schedule and the time for preparing and serving each individual dish. It was clear that admission to the stadium was always three hours before kick-off and that all teams had to be there ready to welcome and feed the guests, that there was a 15-minute break after the first 45 minutes of play and when the game was over.

This enabled meticulous and standardised planning for all locations, regardless of the staff on site. There was transparency as to when which dishes had to go out and, at the same time, when preparation had to begin so that there were no delays in service and when which tables had to be set and how. Always bearing in mind that up to 5,700 guests per match had to be served and catered for in a first-class manner for around 6.5 hours. The service ran correspondingly longer for matches with extra time.

Showdown before kick-off

In the months leading up to the start of UEFA EURO 2024™, each stadium was visited three times to ensure flawless organisation. There was then a final showcase for the dress rehearsal in each of the ten host cities three days before the first kick-off. These events were real endurance tests for the kitchens and the tasters. Between 100 and 120 components had to be produced and tasted in each kitchen to ultimately guarantee a first-class catering experience. An important aspect: the selection and quality of vegan and vegetarian dishes was significantly greater than ever before at a football event. Depending on the location, most of the food was freshly prepared in the stadiums, and in some cases the infrastructure of kitchens in the neighbourhood was used to prepare individual components.

UEFA EURO 2024™ catering: food sharing as an integral part

The food for all official hospitality catering at UEFA EURO 2024™ was finalised in the stadiums. Once again, perfect planning and reliable food quality were the key to success. Due to the security regulations and clear accreditation and access rules, it was usually not possible to simply request supplies in between. Everything had to be on site in good time.

With so many spectators, care had to be taken to ensure that there was enough food available at all times. Image: Sebastian Widmann/UEFA - UEFA via Getty Images

Another sustainability requirement applied to leftover - and still usable - food: UEFA's clear objective for the tournament was to deliver the most sustainable European Championship of all time.Of course, this also had an impact on the food and drink selection and purchasing.Regional suppliers, conscious and well-calculated purchasing and space-saving modern furniture solutions during transport ensured a reduction in harmful emissions, avoided major food surpluses and at the same time secured the local value chain.The wine supply came from the Palatinate, the spirits from Lower Franconia and the caterers remained loyal to local food suppliers.

Meticulous planning helped to calculate the quantities very precisely. But for unavoidable leftovers, a food-sharing system was used in each city in cooperation with municipal social partners. Of course, strict hygiene guidelines had to be adhered to here. Large, refrigerated containers were therefore rented in the stadiums, from which all unused ingredients were collected the day after the match.

Digital offering for customers too: Premiere of the hospitality app

Digital and resource-conserving thinking was not only a fundamental basis in the planning and implementation behind the scenes of the catering and hospitality offering at the 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE. The customer also benefited from fast, digital offers. The menu cards via QR code resulted in massive savings on printed products for the 51 matches.

However, the 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE CLUB was an absolute novelty at a UEFA EURO. An app exclusively for Official Hospitality guests of the tournament, in which a curated offer could be found for each of the ten cities to extend the experience beyond the pure stadium time. Here, special, limited entertainment offers or exclusive catering visits could be booked in advance, but also from the stadium on match day.

The fact that the catering concept and the entire Official Hospitality Programme were an outstanding success is confirmed not only by the sales figures, but also by a representative survey conducted by the company during the tournament, which revealed an almost 95% customer satisfaction rate and a Net Promoter Score (NPS 55) that can be rated as excellent. At the same time, UEFA praised the debutant 2024 HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE from the very top. Looking back on the collaboration, Martin Kallen, CEO of UEFA Events SA, said: “The hospitality business is very important to UEFA and we can look back on an extremely successful partnership with 2024 Hospitality Experience. During the planning phase and the distribution of the hospitality packages, but above all on site during the tournament weeks, smooth processes and high product quality ensured happy guests. That was of course the most important goal.” (stadiaworld, 25.09.2024)