4 Escape Days to celebrate our 20th anniversary

Beginnings. In 2014, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our “Hospital Sports Week”, the association is thinking big: to offer sick and / or disabled children a day of sports activities far removed from illness. In collaboration with the Stade de France Consortium, the idea was born and the event was indeed organized far away from health establishments … at the Stade de France!

The sports movement, already involved in evening entertainment, links up with the concept. A village of a dozen different disciplines was installed on the esplanade of the famous stadium to welcome nearly 500 children and their families that year. They come from our partner hospitals, but also from farther afield. Other paediatric services in the Ile-de-France region as well as associations of young patients, medico-social structures such as IME, IMPRO, SESSAD or ITEP are invited.

The idea is to offer a sports day to as many children as possible in Ile-de-France. Those who can be visited in hospitals and clinics but also those who no longer have any access to sport due to their illness or disability. Tennis, football or taekwondo, they can learn and take part in different activities in complete safety, to help regain confidence, let off steam, have fun and for a day be just like everyone else. Meeting with top-level athletes and a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium makes young and old alike dream, are also on the program. Thanks to the financial support of our private and public partners who are members of the cause, the event is offered free of charge. Thus was born our Escape Day!

Five years later the event, which was originally supposed to be a one off, takes a national dimension to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Premiers de Cordée. With the support of numerous partners and in particular the VINCI group and the VINCI Corporate Foundation for the City, the Escape Day is being held, with the same concept, in stadiums in Le Mans (MMArena), Nice (Allianz Riviera) and in Bordeaux (Matmut Atlantique) in addition to the original site which was by then living its 6th edition. Events in the four corners of France which, we hope, will allow us to develop our activity across these regions.