On November 26, the castle of Vives-Eaux closed its doors while Anisha won season 10 of
“Star Academy”
.
A few weeks later,
Jean-Michel Pontet
, the owner of the vast estate located in Dammarie-les-Lys, near Melun in Seine-et-Marne, decided to reward the millions of viewers of entertainment produced by Endemol and DMLS TV for TF1 by opening its access.
For 12 to 20 euros per person (free entry for children under 5), visitors have the opportunity to discover the main places where academicians live (reservations on chateaudesviveseaux.fr).
To discover
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This is a first since the launch of "Star Academy" in 2001, the general public had never been offered the opportunity to visit this cult filming location.
Until Friday, 1300 visitors per day are expected.
On December 25, all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Grégory Lemarchal association.
The production left a large part of the furnishing and decorative elements that served for the comfort of Anisha, Enola, Léa, Louis, Tiana, Chris, Stan, Julien, Paola, Carla, Cenzo, Ahcène and Amisse.
If the cameras and spotlights necessary for the filming have been removed, the musical instruments in the living room and the singing room, the beds in the bedrooms, the photos on the walls and especially the famous red telephone in the hall entrance are still there.
“Do you think it still works?”
wonders a curious visitor who sits down and picks up the handset.
“Star Academy”: the castle one month after filming
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“I thought it was much bigger”
Dozens of people parade through the rooms of the castle, immortalize the moment by taking countless photos and reminisce about the show.
“It is in this bed that Enola slept”
, rejoices a teenager who cannot believe to be there.
“This place is iconic
,” repeats another.
“I thought it was much bigger”
, drop several other visitors.
The queue slowed down when passing the toilets, not to relieve oneself there but to admire the famous dedications left on the walls by the academicians since 2001. During the renovation of the castle, the cracked paintwork of the two toilets adjoining rooms had been deliberately preserved as they were and protected by transparent Plexiglas walls.
On these, the candidates for the 2022 season have in turn written their little messages.
For eternity.
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Some will regret not having seen the dressing room, completely emptied of its storage units, nor the dance room.
The huge barnum installed to the right of the main building during filming, used in particular for evaluations, was completely dismantled, leaving only a large rectangle of crushed and browned lawn.
After passing through the theatre, the castle, the singing room and the recording studio, the highlight of the visit is located below, in the office of the director, Michael Goldman, where the candidate Carla Hugon patiently lent herself to the game of photos, autographs and discussions with "Star Academy" fans.
Louis, Stan and Chris will follow in the coming days.
Star Academy 2022: The Castle
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