Sébastien Foucras was transferred, in the entrance hall of the Mediterranean club in Tignes on Sunday afternoon. Snow began to fall and the former Olympic medalist in freestyle skiing witnessed the arrival of the 2025 Stars of Sport class. An event he co-founded in 2002 to highlight the idea of transmitting knowledge and emotion between high-level athletes. 23 years later, a few smile lines appear around his eyes but Sébastien Foucras is happy to see the hugs of those who have the pleasure of meeting every year at the Savoyard resort. From Nikola Karabatic to Martin Fourcade, from Marie-José Pérec to the actress Michèle Laroque, everyone was happy.
But things haven’t been easy this year. The wave of the Paris Olympics ultimately set the tone for French sport and many of the brands sponsoring the sport turned elsewhere. We have to reinvent ourselves and Foucras appreciates our ability to do so. “It’s a show that’s based on authenticity, sincerity and deep stuff,” he smiles. We have been working on this subject for a year, although, like the entire ecosystem, we have quite a challenge in this post-Paris 2024 year.”
As French society has been adrift both economically and politically for months, the organization of sporting events has been difficult to solidify. “Big brands that are very close to sport have reduced investment,” he said. And brands that were a bit more opportunistic in their support of the Olympics have now moved on. »
“We have to create moments where everyone can discuss with each other”
Foucras and his team traveled across parts of France to develop the concept of Les Étoiles du sport. “We were in Guadeloupe for the first time,” he said. Then on the Moselle. We also strengthened our ties in Normandy between the university and the coaches’ workshops. And in Tignes, we tested openness to the general public which worked very well and opened up opportunities for us to further message from a very high-performing ecosystem. »
Sébastien Foucras proudly highlights direct contact between great athletes at a time when digital communication is essential everywhere: “This is important because we have to refocus on the basics. We have to create moments where everyone can discuss with each other, with kindness and tolerance. There is nothing better than human connection, the ability to touch another person and look them in the eye. »
The former top athlete never expected that his event, 23 years after the first edition, would still have such a good place on the sporting calendar. “The point of this event is that it grew on its own,” he analyzed. And he will grow up singing. “Before the Olympics, we wrote a song Tomorrow is Parisrecorded here, Very great. And from now on, every Star of Sport promotion will have its own song. The athletes would write them and we would put them to music. »
