Time to change the name? It’s not that simple. The Stade de France amazed the French during the month of competition. This stadium built for the 1998 World Cup has successfully modernized for these Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024. The light shows offered during the two closing ceremonies impressed the French.
With the organization of the “JOP”, this stadium has found a new place in the hearts of the French. In several countries, arenas used for the Olympic Games have integrated the word “Olympic” into the name of the stadium at the end of the competition, as in Berlin or Barcelona. In Paris, the situation is different to become the “Olympic Stadium of France”.
Stade de France awaits its future concessionaire
At the moment, a call for tenders is underway for the future management of the Stade de France, starting on July 1, 2025. The specifications imposed on candidates do not impose the name of the stadium for the years to come but still provide for a right of veto by the State on this part. The future concessionaire of the Stade de France must therefore be the author of the proposal. After this request, it is up to the State to validate (or not) this idea of changing the name of the stadium.
Finally, another important point in this case, if the Stade de France becomes the “Stade Olympique de France”, the future concessionaire can no longer carry out a ‘naming’ of the Saint-Denis stadium. Indeed, the “Olympic” brand is protected by article L141-5 of the Sports Code.
The CNOSF is the custodian of “the terms ‘Olympic’, ‘Olympian’ and ‘Olympian’, except in common language for normal use excluding any use of one of them for promotional or commercial purposes or any risk of causing confusion in the mind of the public with the Olympic movement”. The conditions for attaching this word “Olympic” to a company are therefore quite difficult to put in place.
- RMC Sport
