Bercy Arena

Bercy Arena
Bercy Paris

Venue logo c. 2015

Main entrance to venue c. 2006
Former names Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy (1984-2014)
Address 8 Boulevard de Bercy
75102 Paris, France
Location Bercy, XIIe
Owner Ville de Paris
Operator SEM Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy
Capacity 20,300
Construction
Broke ground February 1981
Opened 3 February 1984
Renovated 2014-15
Architect Andrault & Parat
Jean Prouvé
Aydin Guvan
Tenants
Paris Masters (ATP Masters 1000) (1984–present)
Trophée Eric Bompard (ISU Grand Prix) (1987-present)
French Basketball Cup Final (1998-present)
Judo Grand Slam Paris (2000–present)
LNB All-Star Game (2002-present)
French Ice Hockey Cup Final (2007-present)
French Handball Cup Final (2010-present)
2017 IIHF World Championship
Website
Venue Website

Bercy Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy) is an indoor sports arena and concert hall on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. The closest métro station is Bercy.

Designed by the architectural firm Andrault-Parat, Prouvé and Guvan, it 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.

It is the main venye 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 20,300, 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 Masters Karting Paris Bercy star race from 1993 to 2001, and again in 2011.

As part of the 2014-15 renovations efforts, the arena was renamed Bercy Arena on 1 January 2015.

Notable concerts

One of the first shows to have been recorded in the Palais Omnisports was in 1985, when Deep Purple Mark II reunited for the Perfect Strangers tour. 20,000 people attended the show.

Madonna has performed 19 sold out shows at the venue between 1990 and 2009.

Celine Dion played 7 sell-out shows in 2013 on her Sans attendre Tour she previously played 6 sold out shows in 2009 as part of her Taking Chances World Tour playing to more than 100,000 people, 5 shows in 1996 during her Falling into You Tour and prior to that 5 dates on her highly successful D'eux Tour.

In 1996, Mariah Carey performed during the Daydream World Tour. She returned to the venue in 2000 and 2003 for her Rainbow World Tour and Charmbracelet World Tour.

In 1996 Tina Turner performed as part of her Wildest Dreams Tour. These concerts were notable due to Bruce Willis and his band being the support. Bruce Willis also performed a song with Tina as part of the encore.

The arena played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concerts on September 4–5, 1988. The shows were headlined by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and also featured Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour and Michel Jonasz.

In 2006 French singer 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.

Also in 2006, pop singer Christina Aguilera performed at the venue during the European Leg of her Back To Basics Tour. On December 7, 2006.

French singer Johnny Hallyday performed 79 shows in this place, from 1987 to 2006. Four shows, scheduled in 2010, were cancelled due to artist's health problems. More than one million people have seen him perform at the arena over his career.

Britney Spears performed altogether 5 shows at the venue, in line with her Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004, the Circus Tour in 2009 and the Femme Fatale Tour in 2011. All concerts were sold out.

Kylie Minogue performed at the venue on March 15, 2011 as part of her Aphrodite World Tour.

U2 performed at the stadium six times: the first one was on February 10, 1985 during their Unforgettable Fire Tour, in front of a crowd of 16,000 people. The second and the third were on December 11 and 12, 1989 during their Lovetown Tour, in front of a total crowd of 32,000 people. The fourth one was on May 7, 1992 during their Zoo TV Tour, in front of a crowd of 16,000 people. The fifth and the sixth were on July 17 and 18, 2001 during their Elevation Tour, in front of a total sold out crowd of 34,000 people. The band will perform at the stadium for other four times on November 10, 11, 14 and 15, 2015 as part of their upcoming Innocence + Experience Tour.

Depeche Mode performed at stadium twenty-one times: the first one was on December 17, 1984 during their Some Great Reward Tour. The second and the third were on May 6 and 7, 1986 during their Black Celebration Tour. The fourth, the fifth and the sixth were on November 16, 17 and 18, 1987 during their Music for the Masses Tour. The seventh, the eighth and the ninth were on October 21, 22 and 23, 1990 during their World Violation Tour, in front of a total sold out crowd of 50,000 people. The tenth and the eleventh were on June 29 and 30, 1993 during their Devotional Tour. The twelfth one was on October 7, 1998 during their Singles Tour. The thirteenth and the fourteenth were on October 9 and 19, 2001 during their Exciter Tour. The fifteenth, the sixteenth and seventeenth were on February 21, 22 and 23, 2006 during their Touring the Angel. The eighteenth and the nineteenth were on January 19 and 20, 2010 during their Tour of the Universe, in front of a total sold out crowd of 32,239 people. The twentieth and the twentieth-first were on January 29 and 31, 2014 during their Delta Machine Tour, in front of a total sold out crowd of 33,132 people. The 2001 shows were filmed for the group's concert film One Night in Paris.

On June 1, 2012, Jay-Z and Kanye West brought their Watch the Throne Tour to Bercy, performing the song "Niggas In Paris" a record 11 times.

Beyoncé performed 2 consecutive shows at the venue for The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour on the 24th and 25 April 2013. Both concerts sold out in minutes.

Heavy metal act Iron Maiden have been Bercy regulars since 1986. When longtime members Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined the band in 1999, their first European show back with Iron Maiden was at this venue.

Kylie Minogue performed at the venue on November 15, 2014 as part of her Kiss Me Once Tour. The concert was sold out.

Lady Gaga performed at the venue on November 24, 2014 as part of her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball. It was the last date of her world tour. The show was streamed live around the world, online on Yahoo! Live.


Live DVD

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. Le train des enfoirés ( resto du coeur ) 2005. 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 World Tour was filmed there on June 13 and 14, 2011 sold out concerts. Live from Paris (Shakira album), a live CD and DVD, was released in December 2011.

Johnny Hallyday recorded 4 DVD-CD there : Johnny à Bercy (1987), Johnny dans la chaleur de Bercy (1990), Bercy 92 (1992), and Lorada Tour (1995). At the end of his 60th birthday tour, called Plus Près de Vous Tour (2003), he burned a piano on stage while playing Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, making a tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis. On 09-30-2006, his Flashback Tour show was played live from POPB on the biggest TV Channel in Europe, TF1. At these occasions, he played with guests as Luther Allison or Colin James. After his health problems that lead to the cancel of his farewell tour (Tour 66), he came back for a duet with great French guitarist Mathieu Chedid on 15, 16 and 17 December 2010.

Lady Gaga recorded her last show of the artRave: The ARTPOP Ball for a DVD and Blu-ray

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy.
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First Venue
IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics
Venue

1985
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Hoosier Dome
Indianapolis
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Budapest Sportcsarnok, Budapest
World Figure Skating Championships
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1989
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Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax
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Principe Felipe Arena
Zaragoza
FIBA European Championship
Final Four
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1991
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Abdi Ipekçi Arena
Istanbul
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Palasport di Genoa
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European Indoor Championships in Athletics
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1994
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Globen Arena
Stockholm
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Principe Felipe Arena
Zaragoza
FIBA European Championship
Final Four
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1996
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PalaEur
Rome
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Palau Sant Jordi
Barcelona
IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics
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1997
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Palau Sant Jordi
Barcelona
FIBA EuroBasket
Final Venue

1999
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Abdi Ipekçi Arena
Istanbul
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Cairo Stadium Hall 1
Cairo
World Men's Handball Championship
Final Venue

2001
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Pavilhão Atlântico
Lisbon
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PAOK Sports Arena
Thessaloniki
FIBA SuproLeague
Final Four
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2001
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League Folded
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Rod Laver Arena
Melbourne
Davis Cup
Final Venue

2002
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Rod Laver Arena
Melbourne
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O2 World
Berlin
Euroleague
Final Four
Venue

2010
Succeeded by
Palau Sant Jordi
Barcelona
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Oval Lingotto
Turin
European Indoor Championships in Athletics
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2011
Succeeded by
Scandinavium
Gothenburg
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Ice Palace
Saint Petersburg
IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship
Venue

2017
Succeeded by
Royal Arena
Copenhagen

Coordinates: 48°50′19.15″N 2°22′42.60″E / 48.8386528°N 2.3785000°E