Next week will see the world beach volleyball elite congregating in Paris to compete at this year’s grand slam tournament. From June 18 to 24, the best teams in the world will be playing for game, set and match in the French metropolis. Hot on the heels of the French Open tennis grand slam at Roland Garros, the Henkel Beach Volleyball Grand Slam constitutes a further major sporting event on the Parisian program, and one which is again expected to attract thousands of spectators. A total of 64 teams from 40 nations will be fighting for first place and, following the successful première last year, Henkel is again right in the thick of it as headline sponsor.

“Our aim with this title sponsorship in Paris is to further increase our recognition levels in France,” explains Kai von Bargen, Head of Corporate Sponsoring & Corporate Affairs at Henkel. “Beach Volleyball is a real performance sport in which team spirit, effort and fair play are major factors – attributes that, without exception, offer an excellent fit with our own corporate values. Hence, in addition to Paris, Henkel has also long been a sponsor of the Grand Slam Tournament in Austria’s Klagenfurt on Lake Wörthersee, which is again scheduled for the beginning of August this year.”

During the six days of competition, a total of 250 male and female athletes will be plying their amazing skills and stamina on 2000 metric tons of sand in an effort to carry off the top prize. There is room in the arena on the “Champ de Mars” site for 6,500 spectators per game, all of whom will be able to enjoy the spectacle of world-class beach volleyball free of charge. In total there are 200 matches on offer, all prominently featuring the Henkel name on hoardings, flags and banners. Innovative Henkel brands such as Fa, Pattex, Pritt, Schwarzkopf Professional and Loctite will also be on show. In the “Trade Village” zone, visitors will be invited to get to know Henkel’s world of brands.

Recognized as an official Olympic sport since 1996, beach volleyball started life as a recreational activity by the seaside. Since the 1980s, however, this sandy sport has become a highly popular spectator event with broad sections of the population enjoying its thrills and spills. Beach volleyball also has a reputation as a fair and “clean” sport, one which to date has been spared scandal and doping allegations. The main difference with indoor volleyball is that, in addition to the court size and surface, each team consists of two permanent players instead of 6 on-court players and a further 6 substitutes.

Henkel sponsors top sporting events and sports teams throughout the world. These include the World Ice Hockey Championship in Russia, the finals of which took place in April this year, and also the World Handball Championship in Germany at the beginning of 2007. And in the elite class of motor sport, Formula One, Henkel is an official sponsor of and supplier to Team McLaren Mercedes.