05 nov Media Briefing | Visita na Record Litoral Show

From the request of Santos City Hall, with the management of Record Litoral, an interview will be made on the show Visita na Record Litoral to learn more about GL events, which will take over the concession of the Santos Convention Center.

The interview show Visita na Record Litoral, which covers companies that operate in Santos and in the Vale do Paraíba, is aired on Saturdays, at 2:30 pm, with reruns on Sundays, at 9:30 am.

Tatiana Marques – Editor in Chief at Record Litoral

Journalist graduated from Santa Cecília University, in Santos, she started her career in radio. She worked for the Transamérica and Litoral radio stations, both very traditional in Baixada Santista. She also worked for a TV network affiliated to Rede Globo. In Sorocaba, she was editor of G1 and also had the great opportunity to be temporary text editor at TV Tem. She was also a reporter at Santa Cecília TV, in Santos. In the mid-western region of São Paulo, she joined Record TV. Today she is still in charge of Visita da Record, one of the network’s main interview shows.

 

Questions that will be addressed during the interview

– GL EVENTS IS A COMPANY THAT OF INTERNATIONAL RELEVANCE. HOW WAS THE DECISION TO START OPERATING IN BRAZIL?

The French multinational company GL events is one of the main events market players in the world. Present in 27 locations on five continents, the company manages 52 venues and is specialized in serving the entire sector chain – from events conception to realization, including production and service provision.

The brand came to the country in 2006 and is present in its three main tourist and business capitals: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. At the peak of its trajectory and maturity, the company still has oxygen for new projects and remains attentive to opportunities. Brazil is an extremely important market for GL events because of its potential, both domestically and internationally. Our strategic plan for the country enables the expansion of a series of activities, like in Santos, where we recently took over the management of the city’s new convention center.

– HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING HERE SINCE 2006?

Yes, I came to Brazil along with the company in 2006, being the only group in Latin America to work in the entire events production chain. When I arrived, I took over the management of Riocentro, in Rio de Janeiro, a position I held until the end of 2008. The following year, I also took over the direction of the then HSBC Arena, now Jeunesse Arena, also in Rio, a position I held until July 2009. Then, I became the Business Development Director in Brazil, a position I held until December 2013, when I took over the direction of the São Paulo Expo, Latin America’s largest exhibition center. In February 2018, I became CEO of the group in Brazil.

– HOW MANY EVENTS ARE HELD PER YEAR BY GL AND WHAT TYPE ARE THEY (FAIRS AND FESTIVALS)?  

We have experience of more than 40 years of operation. Currently, the group has an intense and consistent agenda with more than 3,700 events per year. The group has 315 proprietary festivals and fairs.

 – GL EVENTS GROSSED MORE THAN €1 BILLION IN 2019. HOW MUCH HAVE YOU ALREADY INVESTED IN BRAZIL?

Listed in the Paris Stock Exchange – the Eurolist Euronext Compartment B – GL events has grossed €1.173 billion in 2019 and has already invested more than R$1 billion in Brazil – the largest operation after France and China.

– GL ALSO HAS OTHER COMPANIES INCORPORATED, SUCH AS GL EVENTS VENUES. DOES IT MANAGE FAIRS, CONCERTS?

The company reproduces in Brazil the business model of the parent company, with a portfolio of companies that operate in complementary business lines. GL Events Venues manages spaces for business fairs, congresses, concerts, and cultural, sports, and social events. It currently manages the São Paulo Expo – the main events destination in Latin America – and Riocentro, the most complete events and convention center in Brazil.

In Rio de Janeiro, it is responsible yet for the Jeunesse Arena, the first multipurpose arena in Brazil. The operation received investments from GL events to become one of the most modern in the world. The three venues host more than 300 events and a public of more than 4.5 million visitors per year.

In July 2019, the company won the bid to manage the Salvador Convention Center for the next 25 years. During this period, the company will invest about R$50 million in the operation during the concession and its goal is to contribute to add value to the destination, boost the local economy, and turn the city into one of the most important event destinations in Latin America, alongside São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

In September 2020, GL events won the bid to manage the new Santos convention center for the next 24 years.

– THERE IS ALSO GL EVENTS LIVE, WHICH HAS ACTED IN THE ASSEMBLY AND SUPPLY OF TEMPORARY INSTALLATIONS FOR ALL MAJOR INTERNATIONAL EVENTS HELD IN BRAZIL AND LATIN AMERICA?

GL Events Live specializes in the design, production and supply of services and installation of temporary structures for events of all types and sizes. The company has acted in the assembly and supply of temporary facilities for all major international events held in Brazil and Latin America – Pan American Games 2007, Rio + 20, Confederations Cup 2013, World Cup 2014, World Youth Day and Rio 2016 Olympics, as well as sporting events and festivals such as Formula 1, Game XP, Rock in Rio. In 2019, GL Events Live has further expanded its structure to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Madrid and the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

– NOW IN SEPTEMBER, YOU WON THE BIDDING TO MANAGE THE NEW SANTOS CONVENTION CENTER. WHAT WILL THIS SPACE BE LIKE?

In the final stage of construction, the Santos Convention Center will have more than 32,000 m² of total area, a 9,000 m² air-conditioned trade fair and exhibition pavilion, a convention and show room with capacity for 3,000 people, and four auditoriums – which can be subdivided into 8 rooms. With a modernist architectural project, the convention center also has a heliport, dressing rooms, and a 400-space covered parking lot.

– HOW MUCH DOES THE COMPANY INTEND TO INVEST IN THE SANTOS CONVENTION CENTER? HOW IS THE CONSTRUCTION GOING? FINAL STAGE?

We will invest R$48 million throughout the 24 years of the concession, for the qualification of the equipment, technology, and for attracting national and international events. The Santos Convention Center promises to become a hub for infrastructure, logistics, maritime and offshore events, as well as corporate and social events, including concerts.

– WILL SANTOS’ LOCATION, WITH THE LARGEST PORT IN LATIN AMERICA, HELP THE OPERATION OF THE ENTERPRISE?

The location is strategic: near the port, the national and international companies that operate in the region, and the hotel network, as well as the future Intermodal Station, which promises to concentrate the city’s main transportation modals: ferries, boats to Guarujá, the future LRV station, bicycle lanes, and municipal and intercity bus stations.

– WHAT IS THE WORK PREDICTED TO BE DELIVERED?

The predicted delivery date is the end of October.

– RECENTLY THE CONVENTION CENTER’S FACADE GOT A GRAFFITI MURAL BY THE RENOWNED ARTIST EDUARDO KOBRA. THE WORK HIGHLIGHTS FOUR PASSIONS OF THE CITY: PELÉ, THE PORT, BOLSA DO CAFÉ AND TRAMWAY. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT? HOW CAN THIS BOOST THE SITE’S OPERATION? 

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– SHOULD THE SANTOS CONVENTION CENTER ALSO BOOST TOURISM?

The relationship between business and events tourism and leisure tourism is very much aligned. Medical congresses, which are the largest volume, tend to deal with the professional agenda during the week and the doctor usually takes the family to spend the weekend in the congress city. This is a virtue of Santos. The choice is not about size: it is about destination, location, and infrastructure.

Besides, the destination was already consolidated in events, because there was already a schedule being held in the old convention center. Due to the proximity with the city of São Paulo, there is an opportunity to make a movement with what already existed and also take other events to Santos. And there is also the strength of the entire logistics complex, including the maritime terminal. We have high hopes for this set of factors.