Bastille Day Eiffel Tower Fireworks

Everyone needed another rest before the Bastille Day grand finale--fireworks at la Tour Eiffel.  We thought we'd set out a couple of blankets on the Champ de Mars about 7:00.  But Kelly went over to check things out at 6:15 and spots were filling up fast.  So he and Quin set out with the blankets and staked our turf.  Mike headed over at 8:00 to help defend the area.  The rest of us walked over about 9:00 with sandwiches and snacks for the guys who had held down the fort for so long.

Sande and Mike waiting for the Fireworks

This is the view behind us of the Peace Memorial and L'Ecole Militaire behind it.


Photographers lined up with tripods

Unfortunately, everyone in Paris seems to smoke and we ended up next to a group of chain smoking 20-somethings.  You really can't escape the second hand smoke in Paris.  It drives Kate crazy.

Chain smokers' Converse shoes

It was literally wall to wall people on the Champs du Mars.  We were trying to estimate the crowd and thought there were easily between 200 and 500 thousand people.

Sande waiting for the sun to go down

Kate and Sande



Quin, Kate and Kelly

Spencer, Kayla and Kate

The sun finally started to go down just before 10 pm.  Kelly thought that was a good time for a little nap.

Kelly napping

Sunset behind the Eiffel Tower

The orchestra on the stage in front of the Eiffel Tower had started playing about 9:30.  They played classical music and had some opera singers.  The crowd went crazy when they started playing the theme from Star Wars.  You can see in the picture above one of the giant screens set up.  We could see on the screen what was happening on the stage.  They also showed aerial shots and the crowds were huge!
Finally the Eiffel Tower started sparkling and changing colors.


Sparkling blue

White

 

Magenta



Then it was sparkling with the French flag at the bottom.  As you can see Kate found the video mode on her new camera.  The orchestra then started playing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.  Everyone was singing along, including Kelly.  They even sang both verses and Kelly knew every word.

The theme this year was Peace and the anniversary of World War I.  The fireworks began with the formation of the years 1914 and 2014 and the words Vive la Paix.  Kate was able to photograph the Paix.

Paix

We later read online that this was the first time in 12 years that fireworks were launched from the Eiffel Tower.  We thought we'd be sitting on our blankets looking up at the fireworks but we were all standing and watching the Eiffel Tower.  It was amazing.  The fireworks were beautifully choreographed to the music.



Blue and Green Plaid Eiffel Tower

As we were waiting for the fireworks to begin at 11:00, Kate asked me how long they would last.  I guessed they would be about 20 minutes.  They went on over 35 minutes! There was quieter music and a man in white appeared suspended from the middle platform, swinging back and forth and then eventually he climbed up the side, all while fireworks were going on around him.  It was mesmerizing.

We were constantly amazed.  None of us had ever seen a show this impressive in the US.  And it was Kate Monson's birthday.  What a great birthday present!  The crowd went wild again when the orchestra started playing the Beatles song "Imagine."  Rainbow colors appeared on the Eiffel Tower and everyone sang along.

Below is a link to a BBC clip of the fireworks display where you can hear the music and see the suspended man, too.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28304984

And here is a YouTube video of the entire fireworks show Quin found online.  This is 35 minutes long!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeBJJhBwoiA

We all felt it was worth the wait and the most spectacular fireworks display we had ever seen.  But now we had to get home along with the throngs of thousands.  This is when living right by the Eiffel Tower is invaluable.  People filled the streets and the cars who made the mistake of driving in the area were stuck and unable to move.  Everyone was pouring into the metro stop below our apartment to get a train home.  Police were lined up in front of the apartment trying to control the crowds.  This was the view out our living room window.  You can see the crowds of people stretching forever back towards the Champ de Mars.

We got home about midnight but it was so crazy outside nobody could sleep until at least 2 am.  The police kept using their bull horns to control the crowd.  I guess all those people eventually found their way home and the neighborhood was very quiet the next morning!