15,000 people is equivalent to the population of a town. In fact, it requires an incredible amount of infrastructure… and even more so when you know that the land was simply fields to start with.

A whole town, really?

Yes, really! It is an incredible amount of infrastructure, all built from nothing:

– The roads in the fields, able to withstand the passage of small trucks and emergency vehicles
– The food supply service: a delivery, storage and distribution system
– The power supply for the villages as well as the main stage. Let’s just say that this needs quite some power!
– The communication network: well, there is the mobile phone network but it is not that reliable. So it is backed up by a network of walkie-talkies that use a powerful communications mast put up for the event, as well as by an old-fashioned network of landlines linking each village to the headquarters: communication guaranteed, even in case of a major blow to security!
– The drinking water supply system
– The firefighting pipelines at the right pressure: indeed, with 2,000 fires at the edge of Strasbourg, the firemen are seeing red just like their trucks!
– The sanitation system: toilets as well as showers! 15,000 people have to be able to take a shower during their 8 days on site
– The waste water removal system, connected to the city system
– The waste collection system, run in cooperation with the city council services
– The health service: medical points in the villages but also a real hospital, which will be built and managed by volunteer professionals. It has been organised jointly with the French army health service!
– The security service: we are expecting VIPs and 15,000 youngsters, just a short distance from the city. Everything must go peacefully, both for Strasbourg residents and the Scouts and Guides. There is also a plan B in case of a big emergency (such as a big storm leading to floods, like at the previous Scout jamboree)
– The village councils and the headquarters with their own infrastructure: a cafeteria for the service team, and so on
– 25,000 pioneering poles for the structures and an incredible amount of firewood
– And finally, of course, the activity spaces and the huge main stage.