The organisation behind the Paris bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games (Paris 2012) has retained Weber Shandwick to develop and implement its international public relations strategy.

The agency has been chosen following a competitive European Union tendering process initiated by Paris 2012 in December 2003, which involved seven international agencies. The global public relations campaign will fully adhere to and respect the International Olympic Committee (IOC) bidding rules on the use of international public relations.

Weber Shandwick has significant experience managing communications campaigns for winning city Olympic and event bid efforts, including Beijing 2008, Turin 2006 and Sydney 2000, among others.

The appointment of Weber Shandwick marks the first time that the city of Paris has hired an international communications agency to support its bid. This follows the direction given in May 2003 by Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris and President of the Paris Candidacy Committee, to present “an excellent technical dossier,” communicate Paris’s strong desire to host a truly international event, and mobilise the support of French athletes and the people of Paris and Ile-de-France.

Weber Shandwick will support Paris 2012’ s international team, led by Armand de Rendinger.  The Paris 2012 international team has three key missions: the relationship with the IOC, the monitoring of IOC protocol and ethics in the Paris 2012 candidacy and international media relations.

The choice of an international agency also indicates Paris 2012’s intent to promote its bid beyond France’s borders.  Philippe Baudillon, Director General of Paris 2012 said, “We are taking a new approach to our communications for Paris 2012, one that has evolved from an analysis of previous bids. To raise our profile, we have hired Weber Shandwick, as they are one of the strongest international public relations agencies and have a proven track record in bidding and the Olympic world.” 

We are very pleased and proud to have been selected to promote a bid city in whose success we so strongly believe,” said Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick. -  “We are thrilled to begin working on this exciting opportunity.”

An international team based from Weber Shandwick’s Paris office will lead the program and work in close collaboration with the Paris 2012 French agency Publicis, which was appointed late in 2003 to handle national communications.

To strengthen its internal team, Paris 2012 has also invited Jon Tibbs, who led the global public relations campaigns for Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004, to join as its international adviser. 

About Weber Shandwick

Weber Shandwick, a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), is one of the world's leading public relations agencies, with offices in major media, business and government capitals around the world. Weber Shandwick is a leader in marketing public relations, public affairs and corporate communications counseling, and also provides services in advocacy advertising, market research and visual communications. Find out more at www.webershandwick.com.

Interpublic Group of Companies fait partie des principales firmes internationales de communication et de marketing.