2024-01-01 01:40:31
The year 2024 showed up at midnight, but the show started at least three hours earlier in the City of Lights. Paris, in collaboration with France 2, had concocted a great show for revelers, residents and visitors, distributed between several stages, even in the air. A flaming sphere rose in the Parisian night in front of the Arc de Triomphe, a painting reminiscent of the years 1924 and 2024, the two vintages in which Paris hosted, or will host, the Olympic Games.
Twenty minutes before the start of the new year, the Arc was illuminated with lights and spectacular images, always with the Games as a recurring theme. Discus throwers, a podium, flags of the world and the portrait of Zinedine Zidane were notably exhibited on the monument.
From the start of the evening, the crowd gathered on the Champs-Élysées to make the most of the festivities. The artists followed one another, around the Place de l’Etoile or at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Among other stars, Chimène Badi, Grand Corps Malade, Patrick Bruel, Gazo Vitaa and Slimane, who performed “Mon amour”, France’s candidate song for Eurovision 2024.
If the singers ignited the public, not all the activities met with the same success. On the large stage installed in front of the Arc de Triomphe, while Chimène Badi rekindled Johnny Hallyday’s fire, the public was invited to accompany him during a sort of giant karaoke. But the lyrics were displayed in a jerky manner on the giant screens, which did not help spectators who were less familiar with the singer who died in 2017.
Here are the highlights of this festive evening in Paris.
The crowd quickly took over the most beautiful avenue in the world
LP/Olivier Arandel
New Year’s Eve, a life-size test before the Olympic Games
LP/Olivier Arandel
Giant screens have been installed along the Champs-Élysées
LP/Olivier Arandel
The performance and sphere of the Deus Ex Machina company
Reuters/Benoit Tessier
Some revelers found the right numbers on the Champs
LP/Olivier Arandel
Lights and countdown were projected on the Arc de Triomphe
Reuters/Benoit Tissier
Smiles on the most beautiful avenue in the world
AFP or licensors
From the police headquarters, Gérald Darmanin counted more than 800,000 people on the Champs-Élysées at 11 p.m. He reported an evening without any major clashes, despite 69 arrests in France. “Things are going as calmly as possible,” assured the Minister of the Interior.
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