Every 4 years, The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) meets in Ordinary Congress. On 22nd March 2011, the 35th Summit of football’s highest authorities in Europe took place in the heart of the most beautiful city in the world. For the occasion, the splendid Grand Palais donned its finery to welcome delegates from national associations with all due pomp and circumstance.
The Grand Palais, a prestigious setting
Built for the World’s Fair in 1900, the Grand Palais is no less a landmark in the French capital than the Eiffel Tour, the Arc de Triomphe or the Sacred Heart Basilica in Montmartre. This impressive building receives 2 million visitors annually across 40 events organised over its 72,000-m² surface area. The nave is Europe’s largest glass roof, with a surface area of 13,500 m². It was under this magnificent vault, which is open to the sky that UEFA brought together the 53 delegates from member associations for its 35th Congress.
Michel Platini re-elected
This gathering of the great and the good of European football was an opportunity to discuss discipline issues. It was during this 35th Ordinary Congress that participants elected the President and some members of this venerable institution’s Executive Committee. Standing as a candidate for his own succession as the head of UEFA, Frenchman Michel Platini was re-elected for a 4-year term by acclamation of the 53 delegates of UEFA’s member associations.
A Grand Palais dedicated football
To welcome prestigious guests such as Joseph Blatter and Franz Beckenbauer with all due honours, UEFA wanted to make the Grand Palais look like a huge football pitch and they chose Exelgreen’s Natura artificial turf for the task. By using light green yarn this artificial turf gives the impression of grass that has just started to grow. The public therefore had the sublime sensation of being in a natural setting. Moreover, this product’s M4 fire classification meant it could be installed in the Grand Palais without additional treatment.
Exelgreen’s experience and expertise in events is recognised by many industry professionals, and that is why the company was chosen to fit and remove artificial turf for the UEFA Congress.