- Title: FRANCE-CHRISTMAS/LIGHTS Paris lights up for Christmas
- Date: 20th November 2014
- Summary: ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PERSON TAKING PICTURE OF FERRIS WHEEL SY SURROUNDED BY JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH ACTOR, OMAR SY, SAYING: "Christmas is a party, so let the party begin!" CONFETTI FALLING OVER CROWS GATHERED ON STREET WITH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON TREES (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNIDENTIFIED PARIS RESIDENT SAYING: "Honestly this is the first year that we've seen it, and it was fantastic. The fact that they pressed the button together was magical." VARIOUS OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON TREE PEOPLE WALKING ALONG STREET WITH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNIDENTIFIED PARIS RESIDENT SAYING: "It's magnificent. It's the Champs-Elysées, which really represents Paris. It's the Christmas period, it's magical. And also it was Omar Sy who turned the lights on, that makes it even better." VARIOUS OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON CHAMPS-ELYSEES VARIOUS OF CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON TREES CHAMPS-ELYSEES WITH FERRIS WHEEL IN BACKGROUND
- Embargoed: 5th December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- City:
- Country: France
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABJ6PLWTR1QKSZ7BY2HPGXZA
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- Story Text: Paris' Champs-Elysées twinkled into life on Thursday (November 20) after thousands of people gathered along the iconic avenue to watch French actor Omar Sy turn on thousands of Christmas lights.
Thousands of people, Parisians and tourists alike, gathered to watch the ceremony where Sy, star of the hit film 'The Intouchables', teamed up with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to light up the city.
"Christmas is a party, so let the party begin," said Sy after the ceremony.
Clouds of confetti rained down on the crowds of fans who gathered to watch the display.
"Honestly, this is the first year that we've seen it, and it was fantastic. The fact that they pressed the button together was magical," said a Paris resident standing amongst the crowd.
Sy joins a long list of stars who have been previously invited to take part in the ceremony, among them Marillon Cotillard, Audrey Tatou and Diane Kruger.
"It's magnificent. It's the Champs-Elysées, which really represents Paris. It's the Christmas period, it's magical. And also it was Omar Sy who turned the lights on, so that makes it even better," said another Paris resident enthralled by the display.
Over a million lights are now on display on 450 trees along the Champs-Elysées, from Place de la Concorde up to the imposing Arc de Triomphe at the top of the hill.
At the beginning of the avenue a Christmas market has been set up with a large ferris wheel decorated with thousands more twinkling lights.
The lights will be on display until January 8, 2015.
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