Pope's visit to Marseille:
services to match the event!
Pope Francis' visit to Marseille took place on September 22 and 23, 2023. Our security, reception and cleaning teams had the privilege of intervening throughout his itinerary in the city's emblematic sites: the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, the Palais du Pharo, the Avenue du Prado, the esplanade of the Cathédrale de la Major, the Orange Vélodrome stadium and the Marseille Provence airport.
To meet the needs of this large-scale event, we deployed a tailor-made event service combining expertise and operational quality.
- - Onet
An approach combining services and engineering
In the events sector, anticipating hazards is essential. The success of an event depends on careful preparation, meticulous analysis, auditing, consulting and engineering.
The Pope's visit to Marseille took place at 6 different sites, with crowds of up to 100,000 people. We began by carrying out a risk audit to ensure the safety of the event. In addition, several months of preparation were required to ensure the safety of the people along the Pope's route.
Our events experts also carried out a cleaning audit, consisting of a technical analysis of the event at the Stade Vélodrome. This analysis enabled us to establish the optimum dimensions and adapt the cleaning services, taking into account all the constraints involved.
Co-construction is essential
Our teams of experts dedicated to each of our services also worked in collaboration with the various partners and contributors to the event.
This preparation work took several months, which was essential given the scale of the event, which mobilized 6,000 police officers and 1,000 private security guards.
300 Onet Security agents were deployed at various sites affected by the Pope's visit. Onet's management was in direct contact with the team coordinating the security continuum for the Pope's visit, in order to adjust the operation and allocate tasks between Onet Security and the police forces.
At the Stade Orange Vélodrome, our cleaning teams also took into account the constraints associated with the Rugby World Cup, which was taking place at the same time. They worked well into the night to leave the site in optimal condition for the matches to come.
Deployment of a complete system
To meet this major challenge, we focused our services on our 3 areas of expertise.
Responsive, customized cleaning services
At the Stade Velodrome, our operatives were in charge of site cleaning and waste management, including picking from the stadium's grass and flagstones. A demanding job, given the context.
Indeed, other major sporting events were taking place in the days before and after the visit, requiring a high degree of adaptability within a tight timeframe. The objective was therefore twofold: to contribute to the success of this event, but also of future events.
Safety on the front line
After analysis, our teams implemented a hybrid security system, combining electronic and human security at the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica, where we have been managing human security since 2021. The existing electronic security system was reinforced by the addition of video surveillance cameras.
At the same time, we provided some of the human security at the other sites concerned: the Palais du Pharo, Avenue du Prado, the Orange Vélodrome stadium and the esplanade of the Cathédrale de la Major.
Reception, an essential component of the service
PHMR assistance completes our range of airport services expertise, which we were able to put to good use at Marseille Provence Airport, welcoming the Pontiff and assisting him as he disembarked from the plane.
To facilitate entry to the Stade Orange Vélodrome, our reception staff, accompanied by security personnel, also pre-screened the public.
Security, hospitality, cleanliness: service professions have a major impact on the success of an event. In order to provide maximum added value, our event services are based on 3 pillars: a strategic vision, controlled solutions, and a commitment initiated upstream of the service.