The Enduropale du Touquet is one of the biggest motorbike races in the world. This race is part of the legend of motorsports and allows anonymous riders to compete with well-known competitors on the same course.
What are your tasks as an events manager?
I am in charge of the daily organisation of events for the city. On the one hand, there are our own events, which we manage in their entirety. On the other hand, we support associations that organise events in the sports, cultural and tourist fields.
When we organise an event, we think about the choice of events to organise in Le Touquet. We coordinate the various departments of the town, in particular the technical departments which set up the physical events.
There are 300 events in Le Touquet during the year. They can be small events like the Thursday market or big events like the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais.
This is the biggest motorbike race in the world with 500,000 spectators and 2,500 participants. There are about fifteen big events in the year.
Why come to work in Le Touquet?
In 2011, I discovered the resort of Le Touquet by going to the Enduropale with my family.
I found this event to be grandiose. I dreamed of being able to organise it one day.
I applied to the town of Le Touquet for an internship which was not even during the Enduropale. They finally hired me. The first time I was involved in the organisation of the event, I was really happy to see the 1,200 bikes going at full speed on the beach and to hear the engines humming.
I was proud to see the result and thought that I had helped to create this very special and emotional atmosphere.
It's quite powerful to see the riders go through 3 hours, to see them take it upon themselves in really extreme conditions. At the end of the race, they arrive exhausted! It's also quite frightening when you see an accident happen and you think that there could be injuries or even deaths.
How has Covid affected the event?
Since the introduction of the health pass, the organisation is more complicated to manage because you have to set up zones almost everywhere to control the passes.
It's a little easier to manage on small events like the Touquet Music Beach Festival, which takes place in a limited space. On the other hand, on events like the Enduropale, which take up the whole town, it's a real headache!
What was your course of study?
I did my M2 at EM Normandie in International Events Management. I found this course very enriching. What's more, it is taught in English with students coming from all over the world. It's great to have this cultural mix.
Our professors were professionals in the events industry. They know the reality of the field. We also had practical cases to practice.
We went to seminars in Las Vegas and Paris. It was very instructive to go to companies and meet professionals who explained their work to us.
At the end of the year, we also had an internship. It's a combination that makes the training really enriching.
