| Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | |
|---|---|
| POPB, Bercy | |
| Location | XIIe Paris, France |
| Opened | 1984 |
| Architect | Andrault-Parat, Prouvé, Guvan |
| Capacity | Concert: 17,000 Boxing: 16,000 Tennis: 14,000 Basketball: 14,000 Athletics: 8,500 Cycling: 7,000 |
| Tenants | |
| BNP Paribas Masters (ATP 1000) (1984–present) Grand Slam Paris (Judo) (2000–present) World Women's Handball (handball) (Dec 2007) |
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Opened in 1984, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, is an indoor sports arena on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. The closest métro station is Bercy.
Designed by a team of architects: Andrault-Parat, Prouvé and Guvan, it can be can be easily recognized by its pyramidal shape and its walls covered with sloping lawn. Thanks to its design and modularity Paris-Bercy is a unique place, allowing a range of technical applications for unlimited sound, lighting and special effects.
POPB is the venue for the Paris Masters ATP Tour tennis tournament and for many sports: handball, basketball, boxing, gymnastics, track cycling, show jumping and more. It has a seating capacity ranging from 7,000 to 17,000, depending on the event. POPB hosted the European gymnastics championship in 2000, the 1991 and 1996[1] FIBA European Championships Final Fours and the European Basketball Championship in 1999 among others. The POPB has also staged WWE Raw on September 28, 2008. It also hosted the 2010 Euroleague Final Four. It also hosted the Paris-Bercy Elf Masters kart race for well known and high ranking professional racing drivers from 1993.
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The arena played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concerts on September 4–5, 1988. The shows were headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour and Michel Jonasz.
U2 opened up the 1992 Indoor European Leg of their Zoo TV Tour on May 7, 1992.
Sting performed during his Symphonicities Tour on September 30, 2010, along with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2006 Mylène Farmer held a 13-date concert series from January 13 to January 29 at Bercy. The highly expensive show entitled Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy was recorded on January 21, 22 and 28. A release on DVD and CD followed later that year.
Scorpions sold out show at 23-11-11 more than 20.000 fans.
The Cranberries' live DVD 'Beneath The Skin'; the Depeche Mode live record One Night in Paris released in 2001; Placebo's live DVD Soulmates Never Die (Live in Paris 2003); Lionel Richie's Live in Paris CD/DVD were filmed at the venue. Daft Punk also recorded their 2007 live album Alive 2007 at the arena. The best selling music DVD in France, Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy by Mylène Farmer was also filmed at the venue.
Madonna's concert video footage of her famous 1991 documentary Truth or Dare (aka In Bed With Madonna), chronicling her Blond Ambition Tour, was shot at this venue on July 3, 4 and 6, 1990. Fourteen years later, the concert video footage of Madonna's 2005 documentary about her Re-Invention Tour, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret, was also shot in the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, on September 4 and 5, 2004.
Phil Collins's Final Farewell Tour was live at the venue, so was his Live DVD in 2004.
In March 2008, the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach performed Mahler's massive Eighth symphony at the venue. Together with four mixed choruses, five children choruses and eight soloists the masses involved excessed 1.000 participants in "The symphony of a Thousand".
Shakira's world tour "The Sun Comes Out" will be filmed there Jun 13- 14 / 2011.
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