Tour de France operator poised to lose the Paris Marathon

It's not unusual for a marathon to change operators, but it's rare for an event like the Paris Marathon to end up in court.

The new operator consortium Cadence andAmaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which has run the event since 1998,have recently been locked in a fierce battle over the operating rights for the Paris Marathon and half marathon from 2027 to 2030.

On May 20, 2026, the Paris City Council voted to award the rights for the next four years to the Cadence consortium, leaving the long-time operator ASO facing exclusion.

ASO, as Europe's event operator giant — owner of one of the world's oldest cycling races, the Tour de France, and organizer of dozens of major sporting events — has nevertheless "lost the heart of the Paris city government." ASO has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the decision and has appealed to the Paris Administrative Court, seeking to annul the contract.

ASO's home turf crisis

Under ASO's management, the 2026 Paris Marathon set records: 58,853 full marathon runners and 50,000 half marathon participants. However, that was not enough to secure ASO a contract renewal.

When the Paris city government launched a new tender, ASO lost out to the Cadence consortium (made up of Keneo, OSE and Havas Event), with the city council showing a clear preference for Cadence.

On June 25, ASO raised questions about the tendering process at the court hearing, focusing on "fairness of the rules" and "financial rationale":

Compliance with rules：ASO pointed out that new rules had been introduced into the scoring criteria and that the financial scoring lacked transparency;

Financial gap：ASO pledged €4 million in direct annual revenue to the Paris city government, €500,000 more than Cadence's offer;

Pricing strategy：ASO argued that its entry fee scheme offered better value for money.

However, the Paris city government responded that the flaws in the tender documents were just "minor typos" that did not affect the overall outcome. The choice of Cadence was based on its "overall financial sustainability" and its potential to bring comprehensive updates to the event.

Why Cadence is confident

Facing the challenge, Cadence also took a hard line in court,criticizing ASO's mindset of privatizing the event IP and adopting an attitude of "times have changed", and Cadence expressed confidence in the strength of itsconsortium：

OSE: operator of the hugely popular Paris eco trail running event, with rich local race delivery experience;

Havas Event:participated in operations for the 2024 Paris Olympic opening ceremony and has world-class event coordination capabilities;

Keneo: provides specialist project management expertise for sports events.

Cadence's blueprint is also telling,as they aim to emulate the New York Marathon's successful model by introducing new ideas in brand communication, logistics and participant experience.

The battle between the old and new operators — who will prevail?

Both sides have their arguments. The court has ordered an in-depth review of the confidential bid analysis report submitted by the Paris city government; the pre-trial deadline has been pushed back to June 29, and a final ruling is expected in early July.

This ruling could become a landmark event for the international road-running industry. If ASO wins, it would demonstrate that the established giant still has strong capabilities to counter decisions based on the rules.

If Cadence takes over, it would likely signal bigger changes to global event IPs in the future and be a strong sign of breaking monopolies and pursuing innovative operating models.

Who do you think will come out on top in this bidding battle?

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Text/Editor: Paoye/Cavendish

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