On the Champs Elysées, this winter, we are glamorizing energy sobriety. The key word for the new illuminations, unveiled this Thursday, will be “Sobrillance”. “A contraction of sobriety and brilliance”, explains Marc-Antoine Jamet, president of the Champs-Elysées Committee. “We wondered if the most beautiful avenue in the world should also be the most sober”, he explains, before adding that the avenue had to be “magnificent” as the Christmas holidays approach. end of the year.
After being lit for three winters by red LEDs, which left more than one perplexed, the avenue “reconnects with what we know”, he specifies. Its new illuminations will be more traditional, golden and champagne in color. “We could not arrive in 2020, or in 2021, with new illuminations as if everything was fine, given the situation in the country”, he justifies. It will soon be done, at a cost of nearly one million euros.
A smart control system
There will still be new things. The Committee works with Blachere Illumination, which designs eco-responsible illuminations, to create “inventive” decorations. The new illuminations respond to an intelligent control system. “This is the first time that we can program several scenarios, using separate networks,” explains Johan Hugues, co-director general of Blachere Illumination. The LEDs, distributed over the 400 trees of the avenue, will thus produce a “luminous symphony which will give rhythm to the avenue at nightfall”, he says.
“No matter when you come to the avenue, it won’t be the same scenario as the previous time,” says Johan Hugues. The latter will change every five minutes, mostly alternating between flickering and golden light. “The sparkle is obviously a nod to the great Iron Lady”, specifies Marc-Antoine Jamet. The chairman of the committee believes that the avenue should not “only be a public place, but also a place that brings people together, a show”. Blachere Illumination is also working on setting up a color scheme.
The public will be able to discover these illuminations from November 20, during the inauguration ceremony. This year, actor Tahar Rahim will stand alongside Anne Hidalgo to light up the new lights.