EURO 2016 - Circo de Bakuza and Filmmaster present the opening ceremony of the UEFA EURO 2016

EURO 2016 - Circo de Bakuza and Filmmaster present the opening ceremony of the UEFA EURO 2016

Presented on June 10 at the Stade de France, with highlights by David Guetta, 600 performers, and the French patrol.

MONTREAL, June 10, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - 400 MILLION VIEWERS WILL BE GLUED TO THEIR TVS ON JUNE 10 FOR THE OPENING CEREMONIES OF THE UEFA EURO 2016. THE CEREMONIES ARE AN ODE TO FRANCE, REVOLVING AROUND ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SYMBOLS OF THE COUNTRY: THE CAROUSEL. STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PLAYFUL UNIVERSE OF A GONDRY FILM, THE CEREMONY WILL KICK OFF THIS PRESTIGIOUS TOURNAMENT, FEATURING HUNDREDS OF EXTRAVAGANT CHARACTERS AND AN INCREDIBLE FRENCH GARDEN, THE SYMBOL OF THE ART OF LIVING. CIRCO DE BAKUZA (CREATIVE) AND FILMMASTER EVENTS (PRODUCTION) ARE UNITED IN THIS INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION.

THE ART OF LIVING - FRENCH STYLE
In honour of the host country, the 14-minute long ceremony pulls its inspiration from one of the most celebratory symbols of France, the carousel. Everyone is invited: Liberty, Equality Fraternity! "The Euro is an international event, so we're excited the 24 competing countries and millions of viewers are participating in this fun and quirky rendez-vous", explains Julie Brassard, Director of Creation at Circo de Bakuza. " We chose the carousel because it is a symbol of French celebration. We always end up at the carousel to celebrate, it's the heart of every village! To symbolize the art of living and French savoir-faire, installing a garden where 600 performers will sing and dance was the obvious choice. The pop universe, lust for life, and finesse that Michel Gondry brings to cinema was a huge inspiration for us, both for direction and costume. We were inspired by everything traditionally French... fashion, food, even love!"

Among these celebrations will be French patrol aircrafts and 144 cancan dancers, all wearing dresses emblazoned with the French flag, a remix of "La Vie en Rose", characters in amazing original costumes, a 7500 meter squared French garden, and a carousel, as well as a small-scale Eiffel Tower, as centre piece. The music and ambiance have been entrusted to famed DJ David Guetta, who will be playing some of his biggest hits, as well an original tune specifically created for the EURO ceremonies. 60 musicians from the Garde Republicaine as well as a choir of 40 youth will support Guetta musically.

THE EXTRAVAGANT CAROUSEL
The "marinière", haute couture, pastries, the french-kiss, even the ruffled collars of centuries past are the inspiration behind the many costumes of the 84 characters adorning the carousel, a wink to France and french heritage. Carousel horses, stunning red lips, cotton candy, accordion twins, French gentlemen, ballerinas and live bushes were all created by Circo de Bakuza with the aim of making the most extravagant carousel ever seen. "These are real architectural structures that have to not only be visually stunning, but also theatrical enough to be observed and appreciated by those way in the back of the stadium", Explains Julie Brassard.

LOGISTICAL PROWESS
"Creating the concept and the narrative for a ceremony is one thing, pulling it off live is a completely different challenge" Says Andrea Francisi, General Manager Filmmaster Events. "Our 500 volunteer dancers have learned hundreds of different choreographies under the direction of our choreographer, Wanda Rokicki (Athens Olympics) over dozens of rehearsals. The choreography is extremely complex and physical due to the sheer size of the props we are using. A 7500 square-meter turf alone is a challenge for the 100 people needed to install it on stage in a matter of seconds. The carousel, which is the centrepiece of the garden where David Guetta will be performing, is eight meters high, while the Eiffel Tower, which will be installed just before the arrival of the players, reaches the incredible height of 40 meters! The capacity for mobility is of the utmost importance when it comes to pulling off a ceremony like this one. Everything is happening live."

"I had a amazing chance to work on my first Euro in 2012, but being here and participating in this 2016 Euro in France, where I'm from...Frankly, it's an exceptional experience. There are several challenges facing a ceremony like this one: The stage in enormous and it requires a lot of imagination and creativity to be able to fill it. The turf also has to be protected, so there can only be two dress rehearsals, whereas five would normally be required to pull off a show like this one. Equally challenging is the fact that 600 performers have to dance and be perfectly coordinated down to the second. The most important challenge lies in time constraints. We only have a twenty minute window to set up the show, execute the show, and take it down. All of these together are a unique combination- one we are anxious to take on '' said Julien Pateau, Ceremonies manager UEFA.

EURO MARATHON
Circo de Bakuza has just embarked on a marathon. They alone are also responsible for the 49 pre-game ceremonies that will be taking place in 10 French cities. They will join their partner Filmmaster Events once again for the EURO closing ceremony, taking place July 10 in the Stade de France. "Our creative team won over the UEFA in an international call" Explains Vincent Drolet, the president of Circo de Bakuza. "It is an exceptional privilege to take part in such an amazing, international event. There is no room for mistakes. We are working hand in hand with our partner Filmmaster Events, who is also responsible for none other than the Rio Olympic Games ceremonies. We co-produced the finale ceremonies of the Champions League in Milan this past May 28, which was a great success... We make a good team."

ABOUT CIRCO DE BAKUZA
Circo de Bakuza is a Canadian agency specializing in Event, Branding and Film motion design. While the agency has carved out an enviable position in the soccer industry, the creative team has also won over prestigious brands with their ingenious irreverence in both event production (Dubaï Film festival, Bell Canada, Hotel W etc.) and branding (Carolina Herrera, Adidas, Passoa, etc) and film and Montion (Commme des garçons, Opera de Montréal etc.) Its 2015 Ceremony of the Champions League Final was awarded Best European Event of the year by EUBA. Besides the EURO Ceremonies in 2016 during this summer, the company is creating also the ones which will be shown at la Coupe de France, the Quebec Games and the 40th anniversary of Montreal Olympic Games.
www.circodebakuza.com

ABOUT FILMMASTER
Filmmaster Events, producer of Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies and Torch Relay, is the Filmmaster branch specialized in the creation and production of events for companies, public institutions, organizing committees, sport federations and private clients. Based in Rome, Milan, Dubai, London and Rio, and with 35 years of experience, it is one of the leading events companies in the world. In the last years Filmmaster Events was six times elected as the Best Event Agency (BEA), the last one in 2016.
www.filmmaster.com




Photos : http://bit.ly/1UHv832

Video : http://bit.ly/1RZl5C3

https://we.tl/F9cA2Y092H






CREDITS
CLIENT: UEFA
CREATIVE CONCEPTION & DESIGN: CIRCO
DE BAKUZA
EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION: FILMMASTER
EVENTS
CO PRODUCTION : LIVE BY GL
COTUMES CREATION: CIRCO DE BAKUZA
MUSIC : STUDIO APPOLO ET DAVID GUETTA
SINGER : ZARA LARSON


SOURCE IXION Communications

IXION Communications

CONTACT: and interviews : IXION Communications, 1 514 495-8176, henry.welsh@ixioncommunications.com


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