Better than the packaging of the Reichstag in Berlin, in 1995, which had brought together five million people, and that "The Gates" in 2005 in New York (4 million). “Six million visitors is an incredible number! To this must be added the 685 million people who learned of the work through all types of media. It's phenomenal! "Vladimir Yavachev, nephew of Christo, and director of the Arc de triomphe project since the death of his uncle, did not hide his joy, this Tuesday, at the time of taking stock of this event as artistic as tourist, which is is held from September 18 to October 3.
Started against a backdrop of controversy, mainly fueled by social networks, the Parisian project quickly found its audience, visitors hurrying from the first days to contemplate the monument covered with its 25,000 m2 of silver blue fabric and strapped to 3 km of red strings.
“It's a great meeting between heritage, history and artistic gesture.
We were hoping for 4 to 5 million visitors at best.
Six is just happiness… Thank you for making us proud of our city, ”enthuses Carine Rolland, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture.
30% of visitors came from abroad
The great success of Christo's event work is not limited, far from it, to the capital: 70% of visitors were French but only 40% from Île-de-France. And 30% came from abroad. Among them, 19% of Germans, many of whom are fans of Christo's work. “Over this period, we have recorded an increase in German tourists of 83% and 18% of American tourists,” explains Corinne Menegaux, general manager of the tourist office. Better yet: 1.1 million visitors came to Paris exclusively to see the Arc de Triomphe packed. Estimated economic impact: 235 million euros, for an event that was fully funded by its organizers and did not cost taxpayers anything.
“For us, this event was really a lever of attractiveness, especially after months of closures and health crisis.
I also believe that the expectation that existed in the public also partly explains the success.
And then, it was an opportunity for people to rediscover this monument in a different way, to prove that the Arc de Triomphe could still be surprising, even at its age, ”analyzes the general manager.
Suffice to say that the Christo team would be welcome in the future in the capital.
But we will probably have to wait a long time.
For the moment, she is working on a gigantic project: a mastaba composed of 410,000 multicolored barrels, as high as the pyramid of Cheops, which should stand in Abu Dhabi, in a perennial manner.