It’s a given. Aya Nakamura will sing well at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26. The decision comes from the top of the state. At the origin of the initiative, Emmanuel Macron did not intend to back down in the face of the sometimes fierce criticism coming from the right and the far right.
However, always a fan of “at the same time”, the President of the Republic has decided to abandon the resumption ofOde to love by Edith Piaf and to add to the young Franco-Malian artist (28 years old) an interpreter from another generation: Michel Sardou (77 years old).
An unimaginable communication stunt approved by Tony Estanguet: “We are going to reconcile two parts of France that many thought were forever angry,” says the president of the organizing committee (Cojo). This is also the magic of the Games. »
Blue-white-red barge
According to a source close to the matter, the idea for this incredible duo did not come directly from the head of state, but from his influential wife. “An advisor to Brigitte Macron had first mentioned an association between Médine and Patrick Sébastien, but the first lady brushed aside this idea,” whispers a regular at the Elysée.
Once the concept was released, it remained to probe Aya Nakamura and Michel Sardou who already knew each other a little, having crossed paths backstage at Bercy during a concert by the metal group Slipknot, in January 2020. The two stars quickly gave their agreement. “If it can hurt… Juliette Armanet, it’s worth postponing my retirement for a few months,” said the septuagenarian, stubbing out a cigarette butt.
Aya and Michel together on a blue-white-red barge with the Eiffel Tower as witness, she in a strapless Chantal Thomass dress, he in a Jean-Paul Gaultier sailor top… The scene promises to leave a lasting impression on the retinas of hundreds of thousands of spectators and of the 2.5 billion viewers expected in front of their television sets.
David Guetta also involved
But in fact, what will two artists with such different repertoires be able to sing? Although it is not yet completely completed, the program for this historic concert is already well advanced. The famous DJ David Guetta offered remixes mixing some of the greatest hits of the two performers:
- Nakamura Lakes
- The time of the colonies? There is no way Djadja
- Women of the 2020s
- I’m going to love you pretty girl
The duo could also appropriate other great classics, like the intriguing No pookie woogie.
“It will be a great moment of national communion, which will combine urban music and the songs that the peasants of our territories like to listen to by the fire, once they have unharnessed their oxen and unhoofed their hooves,” confides Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports and Games, who we imagine is impatient to review her classics in the family living room. Finally, she has time, it’s only April 1st.