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Tour de France Signs XP Events to Manage On-Site Retail Merchandising Operations in U.K.

(PRLEAP.COM) XP Events, the turn-key retail merchandising partner for sports organizations and world-class events, has been awarded a contract to manage on-site retail merchandising operations at the 2007 Tour de France’s Grand Départ – the largest sporting event that will take place in London ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. The Grand Départ, which will take place from July 6-8, will include the opening ceremony for the 2007 Tour de France, the Prologue in central London, and Stage One of the race from London to Canterbury. An estimated two million visitors from across the world are expected to visit London and Kent during the three days the Tour will spend in the U.K. The license contract was awarded to XP Events by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organizer of the Tour de France. The two companies were brought together by ASO’s New York based license agency, MODA International Marketing.

XP Events’ retail operations at the Tour de France will include:

o A showcase store in Trafalgar Square for the opening ceremonies on July 6;
o 18 retail locations along the route of the Prologue in central London on July 7; and
o 13 retail locations along the route of Stage One from London to Canterbury, including eight mobile retail stores that will follow the progress of the race, preceding and following the riders, as well as five fixed point retail stores.

The Tour de France Prologue on July 7 will be an 8km lap of central London passing some of London’s most famous landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park before finishing on the Mall. Stage One on July 8 will start in central London, passing close to a variety of historic and contemporary sites including Big Ben, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Gherkin and crossing Tower Bridge, close to City Hall. The race will then travel through Bermondsey, Deptford, Greenwich and Erith before traveling to Kent. In Kent, the tour will pass thorough Dartford, Medway, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford before the stage finish in Canterbury.

In addition to operating all on-site retail merchandise concessions at the U.K. event, XP Events will also produce retail merchandise that will be available to in the U.K. and in the Americas.

“The Tour de France is the world’s largest annual sporting event, and this year’s race is particularly exciting because the race is starting in London for the first time in the Tour’s history. This event will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for cycling enthusiasts and sports fans in the U.K. and around the world – and millions of tourists will join countless U.K. citizens in celebrating the start of the tour in-person at the Grand Départ events,” said Alan Fey, President of XP Events. “We are honored that ASO has awarded XP Events the on-site merchandising rights and the license to produce products in the UK and in the Americas, and we look forward to working closely with the Tour de France to support its marketing goals for the Grand Départ.”

“One of the great traditions of the Tour de France is that the first leg of the event starts in a new location each year, not only in France but also in other countries. The decision to start this year’s Tour in London has received a tremendous response from the public, and we expect attendance and demand for retail merchandise to be very strong,” said Jérémy Botton of ASO. “Working with XP Events gives us a retail merchandising team that has expertise supporting major sporting events around the world, including events with complex logistics like those involved in a multi-day event stretching across a large geographic area.”

For more information about the Grand Depart, visit www.tourdefrancelondon.com/en/.

About XP Events, LLC
XP Events provides turn-key retail merchandising services and retail facility management services to sports organizations and world-class events around the world. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado in the United States with operations in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, XP Events partners with sports organizations that want to ensure the success of their retail merchandise operations by working with an experienced team that is a true “Brand Guardian” with a successful track record of helping organizations achieve their branding, marketing and business goals. For more information about XP Events, visit www.xpevents.com.

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