[Reporting by Sun Runluo, special correspondent of the European Times] On the night of October 5-6, 2019, the 18th "La Nuit Blanche in Paris" will be ushered in. With an investment of 1.5 million euros, the "Sleepless Nights in Paris" is larger than ever, and the event has been extended to the Ring Line, and then across the Ring Line to several cities in the Greater Paris region. Therefore, the Paris Municipal Government proudly promoted that this "Sleepless Night in Paris" became an event in the sense of the metropolitan area of Greater Paris for the first time. From 19:00 on the 5th to 7:00 a.m. on the 6th, there are many cultural and artistic activities in many cities in Paris and on the outskirts. There are indoor art events in the museum, as well as open-air events, all of which are free as always. Below, let's introduce the most important and distinctive activities of this year's "Sleepless Nights".
Pictured here is Montmartre on a summer night in Paris. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)
La Parade
That evening, a procession of about 15 art platforms (plateformes artistiques) will depart from place de la Concorde via Rue de Rivoli towards place de la Bastille. Each art platform is a large-scale art installation designed by modern artists, surrounded by dancers and musicians singing and dancing. Musicians and bands come from the city of Paris, the Greater Paris region and countries around the world; the artists participating in the design of the art platform come of a variety of ages, from different genres, and their designs are full of whimsy and experimentation, all of which are large-scale, fantasy and poetic works of art, which turn the parade into a mobile, open-air exhibition, which will also be attended by Daniel Buren, a famous French artist and an important representative of extremeism.
From 14:00 on the 5th, these art platforms will be displayed and exhibited on the avenue Winston Churchill between the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.
From 19:00, the parade departed from the Place de la Concorde, marking the official start of the 18th "Sleepless Nights in Paris" event. The procession is expected to arrive at Place de la Bastille at 22:00,
Upon arrival at Piazza del Bastille, musicians and dancers will remain in the square to continue their performances. The art platforms will be dispersed to designated locations within the city of Paris or to designated cities on the outskirts of Paris. There, the art platform will be transformed into a music stage, public sculpture or light and shadow performance, and other works of art will be exhibited nearby.
During sleepless nights, the Paris bus line operates all night.
La Grande Traversée
Between 22:00 on the 5th and 2:00 a.m. on the 6th, two 10-kilometer runs will be held. The starting point is located in the place de la Concorde, and participants can pass through many representative cultural venues in Paris, such as the Théatre du Chatelet, the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou and the Hôtel de Ville. The event, called La Grande Traversée, is an ingenious way to combine culture and sport, which is also a warm-up for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Great Crossing not only passes through the streets of Paris, but also into museums, theaters and historic buildings. Of course, when entering a cultural place, runners can only walk, not run in the true sense.
In order to avoid too many people, this activity requires pre-registration, and the online registration work was carried out once on July 10, and 3,000 people signed up for the long-distance vest on the same day. A second registration was made on September 11, and it is said that a total of 10,000 people participated.
The official start at 22:00 in the evening. Both long-distance runs start from the Place de la Concorde and have different routes. At the start, depart in groups of 4 with a 30-second interval between each group. Maybe you are not a long-distance runner, even if you walk fast, it doesn't matter, being overtaken by the people behind you, the purpose of the "big crossing" is not to win the race.
Both lines head west, one east, and both end up at Association Square.
Western Route: Concorde - Les Invalides - UNESCO - Tour Eiffel - Musée del'Homme - Cité del' architecture - Théatre Chaillot - Economy, Council of Society and the Environment (CESE) - Musée Guimet - Théatre des Champs-Elysées - Palais de la Découverte - Grand Palais - Concorde.
Eastern Route: Concorde - Muséedes Arts Décoratifs - Musée du Louvre - Centre Pompidou - Musée d'artet d'histoire du Judaisme - Musée Picasso) - Hôtel de Ville - Théatre du Chatelet - Institut de France - Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris - Concorde.
Tip: All cultural venues and government agencies passed by these two long-distance running routes are free to the public that night, and you can enter even if you do not participate in the long-distance running activities.
Artists' Walk (La promenade des artistes)
On the occasion of "Sleepless Nights", many artists will walk the streets of Paris to realize their performance art. Some communicate with the public and even invite the public to participate in their performance art, while others are more "lonely", walking alone on the streets of Paris. This is also an important part of this year's "Sleepless Nights", which we will introduce later.
Bicycle Racing Track (Le Vélodrome)
From 19:00 on the 5th to 7:00 a.m. on the 6th, the Ring Line north of Paris from porte de Pantin to porte de La Villette will be temporarily transformed into a lighted cycling arena. The course is circular in shape and has a total length of 1 km. People can pedal on a lighted bicycle on a closed circular track, as fast as or slow. In addition, a pedestrian area will be set up for the public to enjoy light and sound performances. There are a lot of artists who will dance quietly among the public. The "Mobile Street Food" association will organize a number of mobile food trucks to operate there, creating an atmosphere similar to the Tour de France. The Philharmonie de Paris will give concerts there, and the Centre sportif Jules Ladoume.gue will organize artists to participate in sports events.
Note: Organizers call on everyone to actively participate in this light cycling race, but remind everyone to ride their own bicycles. Of course, renting public bikes (Vélib') will also do. However, it is estimated that there will be many people renting a car by then, and the organizers remind everyone to make an appointment in advance.
The lighting fixtures on the bikes can be picked up in advance at the Village Velo, located in the Place de la Fontaine aux Lions in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. In addition, starting from 14:00 on the afternoon of the 5th, the bicycle village will organize various activities, including teaching the public to repair bicycles, teaching children to ride bicycles, and carveing bicycles (BICYCODE), and so on.
Motorists need to be aware that, due to the temporary lighted cycling arena, from 14:30 p.m. on the 5th to 10:00 a.m. on the 6th, the ring line between porte de Bagnolet and Villette Gate is closed and motor vehicles are prohibited, and motorists must drive the ring line from porte de Montreuil or porte d'Aubervilliers.
"Sleepless Night" Paris bus company escort
The evening of October 5-6 will be the 18th "Sleepless Night in Paris", how to participate in various cultural activities, and how to go home? Don't worry, the Paris Bus Company (RATP) has made arrangements that metro line 1 and several buses will operate all night.
subway
The paris metro lines will operate normally until around 2 a.m. on October 6. From 2:15 a.m., Metro Line 1 will continue to operate and will be free of charge. During this period, the following stations of line 1 were opened: Chateau de Vincennes, Porte de Vincennes, Gare de Lyon, Bastille, H.tel de Ville, Louvre-Rivoli, Tuileries, Champs Elysées-Clemenceau, George V and Esplanade de la Défense.
streetcar
The entire tram line operated normally until 2 a.m. on the 6th. From 2:15 a.m., the following lines continue to operate free of charge:
- T3a: Operates only between Porte de Vincennes and Porte d'Orléans.
-T3b: Operates the entire line between Porte de Vincennes and Porte d'Asnières.
bus
The réseau Noctilien network in the Greater Paris area will be strengthened, with night buses operating from 00:30 on 6 October until 5:30 a.m., but with some changes from usual.
- N01 and N02 night buses connecting the major train stations in the Paris region will be strengthened to run every 5 minutes.
- Night buses departing from Chatelet on the N21, N22, N23 and N24 will also be enhanced to run every 10 minutes.
- N11, N12, N13, N14, N15 and N16 night buses do not operate on night.
- Night buses departing from the major train stations in Paris and heading to the suburbs will also be strengthened.
Ile-de-France Regional Sr. (RER)
The operation of each RER is the same as usual and has not changed.
Friendly Reminder:
Some media especially reminded everyone not to drive to participate in the event that night, it is estimated that it will be difficult for vehicles to enter the block where the event is held, and it is even impossible to park.
The Vélib', which is also expected to be sought-after and hard to find, is also very popular. Parking spaces near the event site will also be full of cars, making it difficult to park.
In addition, because there will be many people participating in the activities that night, and the walk will be very long, it is best to wear basketball shoes and other more comfortable and easy to walk shoes. Don't carry too much of a bag to the event.
(Editor: Qiu Yi)