Le Zénith (Paris, France)

Le Zénith is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paris, France. It is located in the Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement on the edge of the Canal de l'Ourcq. Its ability to seat up to 6,293 people makes it one of the largest venues in Paris. The closest métro and RER stations are Porte de la Villette, Porte de Pantin, and Pantin.

History

Le Zénith was built in 1983 to replace the Hippodrome de Pantin, a circus big-top which had become the main venue for touring rock bands visiting Paris (after the closing of the Pavillon de Paris). The Zénith was built on the same location as the old circus tent, and was designed by architects Philippe Chaix and Jean-Paul Morel on the initiative of Minister of Culture Jack Lang. It was inaugurated by Renaud at the start of 1984.

Somewhat reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower, this hall was intended to be used for a fixed term of three years after which it was to be dismantled and replaced by a new hall nearby. However, instead, its success gave birth to a chain of new halls throughout France, in Strasbourg, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nantes, Clermont-Ferrand, Rouen, Dijon, Pau, Toulon, Saint-Étienne, Caen, Orléans, Nancy, Amiens, Lille and Limoges. These halls are also named "Zénith", which is a trademark registered by COKER and the Ministry of Culture.

Artists who have recorded there

Most of the great names of international pop music have recorded concerts at the Zenith: for example Blur, Simple Minds, a-ha, Simply Red, Céline Dion, Jenifer, Serge Gainsbourg, Véronique Sanson, Cyndi Lauper, Renaud, Les Enfoirés, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Vanessa Paradis, Michel Berger, Bernard Lavilliers, Johnny Hallyday, Lara Fabian, Dorothée, Claude Nougaro, Hubert-Felix Thiéfaine, France Gall, Sheila, Michel Sardou, Eddy Mitchell, Étienne Daho, Patricia Kaas, Kassav', Michel Jonasz, Tri Yann, Zazie, Cher, Khaled, Faudel, Rachid Taha, the group "Tryo", Lorie, and Alizée, Amel Bent, Burning Spear, Alpha Blondy, Super Junior, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande. Also, in French rock and rap: Superbus, Indochine, Téléphone, Ange, Dionysos, Pleymo, Damien Saez, Bérurier Noir, NTM, Eiffel, Diam's, L'arc en Ciel.

Events

• Cyndi Lauper's home video and HBO concert special "Cyndi Lauper in Paris" was filmed here in 1987 during her "True Colors" tour, which included the live music video for her single "Boy Blue."
• Gloria Estefan 20 November 1996.
• The Cure's album Paris was recorded here in 1992, as was the 2001 Hullabaloo Soundtrack CD/DVD by Muse, the 2004 Anywhere but Home CD/DVD by Evanescence, the 1992 Beethoven Was Deaf album by Morrissey, and the 1990 Chico Buarque Ao Vivo Paris – Le Zenith album by Chico Buarque.
• Bob Dylan has performed a total of eight times (1993, 1995, 1998, 2000, twice in 2002, 2003 and 2005).
• Oasis performed in 1997, with lead vocalist Liam Gallagher performing drunk.
• Britney Spears performed at the venue on 14 November 2000 during her Oops!... I Did It Again Tour. This was her first concert in France.
• 25 May 2004: American rock band Evanescence recorded their live album Anywhere but Home here.
• Anastacia performed at the venue on 6 October 2004 during her Live at Last Tour.
• March 2005: Italian singer Laura Pausini held two concerts that appeared on her CD/DVD Live in Paris 05.
• November 2009: Québécois group Les Cowboys Fringants recorded a live album, with a release date of April 2010.
• April 2007: World Wrestling Entertainment: held a house show, where the Women's Championship changed hands twice, as Melina lost the title to Mickie James, and later won the title back.
• 24 January 2010: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
• 17 September 2010: Peace One Day's annual Peace Day celebration
• 12 October 2010,the Norwegian pop band a-ha, one of the most important of the world,made his last concert in France,in their farewell tour "Ending on a high note".

• 10 and 11 June 2011: SMTown Live '10 World Tour by SM Entertainment. Participating artists included TVXQ, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SHINee, f(x), with a sold-out crowd of 13,500 people.^[1]

• 6 April 2012: Super Show 4 World Tour by South Korean boy band Super Junior, their first concert at Zenith de Paris with a sold-out crowd of 7,000 people.^[2]
• 11 April 2012: 20th L'Anniversary by L'arc en Ciel , held a concert to a sold-out crowd of 6,700 people

• 7 September 2013: The Self-Titled Tour by Paramore.

• 1999–present: Disney on ice performs their shows at the concert arena annually every 2 years,even though the shows are sometimes in smaller format when they perform.

• 31 March 2014 Eason Chan EASON's LIFE Concert

• 8–11 May 2014: League of Legends All Star^[3]

• 30 and 31 October 2014: Artrave: The Artpop Ball by Lady Gaga.

• 18–22. February 2015: Violetta LIVE

• 25 and 26 March 2015, Nicki Minaj performed at the arena during her third tour, "The Pinkprint Tour". The first show was sold out a few days after being on sale so she added a second one.

• 14 and 15 May 2015: The Honeymoon Tour by Ariana Grande.

• 17 Nov 2015: Big Love 30th Anniversary Tour by Simply Red.

See also

• Le Zénith
• Zénith d'Orléans
• Zénith de Strasbourg
• Parc de la Villette
• Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, City of Science and Industry in Parc de la Villette
• La Géode, an IMAX domed theatre in Parc de la Villette
• Cité de la musique, City of Music, in Parc de la Villette

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zénith de Paris.

• Zénith de Paris

Coordinates: 48°53′39″N 2°23′35″E / 48.89417°N 2.39306°E / 48.89417; 2.39306