Whereas balls are being dribbled down the fields in the stadiums hosting the European Soccer Championship 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, they will fly over the beach volleyball nets in Paris from June 16 - 22, 2008. For the fourth time, the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament will be held in the French capital. And for the third time, Henkel is the main sponsor of the event, and will present its corporate brand name and seven product brands: Fa, Mir, Le Chat, Pattex, SuperGlue, Loctite and Schwarzkopf.
More than 200 matches will take place on the grounds of the “Champs de Mars”, against the fantastic backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. The arena has a capacity exceeding 6,500 spectators, who will be able to experience world-class beach volleyball free of charge. The best 130 teams from 40 countries will travel to Paris to pit their skills against each other. For the athletes, the tournament is important in terms of the qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in August of this year. The winners will not only qualify for the Summer Olympics, but also earn 600,000 euros in prize money. Accordingly, the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Tournament in Paris ranks among the most lucrative beach volleyball competitions worldwide.   
As the main sponsor, Henkel also offers fans a diverse range of fringe events, for example instructions given by Le Chat on maintaining health at the same level as top athletes, the opportunity to relax in the wellness zone hosted by Fa or a visit a the Henkel Café.

Beach volleyball, which attained the status of an Olympic sport in 1996, started as a recreational pastime on beaches. Since the 1980s, this “game played on sand“ has emerged as a highly popular sporting event, which appeals to a large audience today. In addition to the playing surface, the main difference to indoor volleyball is the number of players on the team. In beach volleyball, each team consists of two players, not six as is the case with its indoor counterpart. Even if this game played on sand has become a serious tournament sport, it has not at all lost its appeal as a recreational pastime and simply speaking, a lot of fun.

Henkel has been sponsoring national and international sports events for many years. Besides the Beach Volleyball Grand Slam tournaments in Paris and Klagenfurt, Henkel has also been involved with the Ice Hockey World Championship in Canada and the World Handball Championship in Germany last year.  

For more than 130 years, Henkel has been a leader with brands and technologies that make people's lives easier, better and more beautiful.  Henkel operates in three business areas – Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesives Technologies – and ranks among the Fortune Global 500 companies. In fiscal 2007, Henkel generated sales of 13,074 million euros and operating profit of 1,344 million euros. Our more than 55,000 employees worldwide are dedicated to fulfilling our corporate claim, "A Brand like a Friend," and ensuring that people in more than 125 countries can trust in brands and technologies from Henkel.