Part 2 - LA84 Foundation

16. Reception and Protocol
494
Due to the size of area outside the
stadium that had to be covered by the
guide teams female guide personnel
assigned for the outer guide team
were deployed as near to the exit
gates as possible while male guidance
staff were deployed in the parking area
relatively far away from the gates.
When VIPs got off at the parking lot,
the guidance staff led them up to the
designated gates. Guidance staff
responsible for indoor guide services,
who stood by the gate, confirmed the
seating zone using the admission
tickets and led them to the indoor
gates of relevant stands.
Personnel in the seating guide team
confirmed the accreditation cards of
those entering from the indoor gates,
and confirming the admission tickets,
led them to the designated seats
according to the number of rows and
the number of seats in the specific
seating sectors.
Those who were eligible for the VIP
seating wore flower ribbons of different
colors and shapes on the chest, and
guidance staff led the VIPs to the
upper or lower stands based on the
flower ribbons. VIPs eligible for the
upper stand were led along the stairs
leading to the entrance of the upper
stand for VIPs, while those belonging
to the lower stand were led from the
entry gates on the left and right sides.
At the same time, they also extended
guide services for IOC, IF and NOC
personnel.
VIPs reception and operation of
VIP seats
The reception for the VIPs and the protocol
during exit were done according
to the Olympic Charter and the order
of Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
The reception was carried out in close
cooperation with the IOC and related
domestic organizations.
Korea's Sports Minister and Mayor of
Seoul accompanied VIPs who arrived
at the Olympic stadium at 10:45 a.m.
for the Opening Ceremony; greeted by
IOC president, SLOOC president, IOC
members and KOC president, they
moved to the VIP lounge and viewed
initial programs on a monitor. At
11 a.m. sharp, the official function
started, and simultaneously, the
announcer announced the arrival of
the President of Korea. The President
took his seat in the Royal Box amidst
applause from some 100, 000 spectators.
Ignoring the precedent of the past
Games, the President personally
observed the Closing Ceremony to
celebrate the successful closing of the
Games. He left the stadium as the
Olympic flame was being extinguished.
After the ceremony, VIPs who were
assigned to the Royal Box got together
at the VIP lounge for a champagne
party to mark the finale of the 16-day
Olympiad.
VIP seats were divided into the upper
and lower stands; the upper stand,
about 115 square meters, was walled
by bullet-proof glass on the right,
left and front; the lower stand was
about 60 square meters. The maximum
capacity was 70 for the upper
stand and 60 for the lower stand. Seating
allocation was based on the order
of precedence seating, IF VIPs on the
left and non — sports VIPs on the right
of the seats for the heads of state.
The seating arrangement for the lower
stand corresponded to the upper
stand, seating the presidents of NOCs
and other sports VIPs on the left side,
and non-sports figures including
deputy prime minister-level VIPs on
the right side. During the Opening and
Closing Ceremonies, binoculars were
provided to all VIPs in the upper and
lower stands.
Amenities services
To ensure maximum possible services
and convenience for the VIPs attending
the Opening and Closing Ceremonies,
the SLOOC operated a VIP
lounge, temporary resting room and
free dispensers. The VIP lounge,
about 99 square meters at the back of
the VIP stand, was operated separately
from the Guest lounge of the same
size; A buffet and cocktails were
arranged for Royal Box VIPs. The
lounge was open an hour before the
ceremony and for an hour after the
ceremony.
Teh temporary lounge, about 397
square meters, was installed at the
athletics headquarters beneath the
West Gate deck, and served buffets
and cocktails for some 1,730 persons
belonging to IOC, IF, NOC and GV
categories.
Free dispensers were installed on the
first-floor lobby of the Olympic
Stadium for some 8, 100 persons
including Olympic Family and domestic
invitees eligible for paid attendance:
free services arranged under
the Olympic marketing program
included Coca-Cola, cider, ginseng
-based beverage and beer.
Invitation cards were delivered along
with admission tickets to those Olympic
Family members who belonged to
IOC, IF, NOC, B, and G categories. To
all Family members who attended the
ceremonies, function supplies and
function programs were provided free
of charge.
16.3
Review and Evaluation
The receptions at four airports and two
harbors, and the complexity of the
reception such as the adequate
organization of human resources and
placement necessitated highly
sophisticated planning and organizational
acumen.
Thanks to the elaborate preparations
by the SLOOC, coupled with the dedication
of operation personnel, the
reception services including accreditation
and transportation services were
carried out successfully, making a
great contribution to bringing the
Olympic Games to a successful conclusion.
The primary factor in the success can
be found in the efficient utilization of
human resources based in the airports
and harbors. The utilization of these
personnel helped establish a functional
cooperative system with related
agencies, quickly processing arrival
and departure procedures for the
Olympic Family.
Second, accurate and detailed arrival
information on the Olympic Family was
another factor in the success. Of the
25,974 Olympic Family arrivals, the
SLOOC obtained arrival information in
advance on 22,725 persons, and
through computerization, was able to
transmit information on them to the
related agencies to ensure full security
measures and proper preparations for
functions.
There were some unsatisfactory
aspects, however. Accurate departure
information of Olympic Family was not
transmitted to the situation room from
the Headquarters Hotel, Press Village,
the Olympic Village, and each lodging
place. The Reception Operation Headquarters
did not immediately notify the
related airport-based agencies of
changes in arrival and departure
schedules, causing some discrepancy
in the functional cooperative system.
In particular, the operation of VIP
rooms suffered considerable difficulties
because the accurate departure
schedules were not transmitted to the
related agencies.
Despite the huge number of personnel
involved in the operation of the Headquarters
Hotel which took overall
charge of protocol services for Olympic
Family, protocol services showing
unique characteristic and hospitality
were made possible thanks to excellent
human resources, logistics, and
operations.
The focal point in the protocol affairs of
the Headquarters Hotel was the operation
of hosts/hostesses. Some 400
hosts/hostesses carried out their
assignments at all venues of competition
and no major problems were
reported, apparently reflecting the
tangible results of the education conducted
during three rounds of collective
training.