The cold black palisades that surround all the floats each Carnival night will have to remain. “Instructions from the prefecture” for the safety of the event, recalled, Thursday, in city council, the assistant to the influence of the city of Nice Magali Altounian. But then how to allow the locals to benefit more (and for free) of these festivities, again claimed the adviser RN Philippe Vardon. Well, in fact, the town hall was working on it. She says she took advantage of the cancellation of the 2021 edition due to Covid-19 to reinvent her flagship meeting.
In 2019, already seized by its opposition, the city of Nice had indicated that it had launched a reflection on the feasibility of offering free access to the inhabitants of the city. “The current formula that I inherited was not what was most popular with the Niçoises and the Niçois, conceded Christian Estrosi on Thursday. We will evolve its model by offering more free time. “
And in particular new opening and closing ceremonies. Scheduled for February 2022 around the “King of the Animals”, the next edition will thus be entitled to an inaugural “sound and light show”, on the evening of the 11th, from 6.30 pm. “And it will therefore be free, the same for the closing of the demonstration”, indicated the mayor in front of his assembly. The cremation of the king will therefore no longer be the only highlight of the show on February 27.
All tanks on display
But it is also throughout the event that fans will be able to benefit from the work of the Carnavaliers. While only the king and queen were previously visible outside the corsos, all the tanks will now be on display before each outing in the Jacques-Cotta space, at the very start of the green flow. “A Carnival village will also be installed around the bandstand throughout the Carnival, also details Christian Estrosi. The people of Nice will be able to find there every day and free of charge animations, gourmet stands, conferences and shows. Some of which will also be offered on the stage of the Théâtre de Verdure.
For privateers, access to which will always be free to disguised people, the city has also worked on several new features. They will be shorter (90 minutes) and start at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. The flower battles will also take place on Place Masséna. The arrangement of the stands will also be completely upset. “No more two huge structures, announces the mayor of Nice. They will be more numerous and lower so that the public is closer to the show. “
A “NissaDrome” in bloom
In addition to finding the battles of flowers, repatriated from the Promenade des Anglais, Place Masséna will be entitled to a “NissaDrome” next February. This other novelty will constitute, according to the town hall, a “large green and flowery promenade”. Christian Estrosi promises that “flowers will take an essential place in the Nice Carnival”, which welcomes 200,000 visitors each year, 18% of whom are foreigners.