Yesterday evening around 8:30 PM, the king and queen of the 2018 Nice space carnival took to the road, heading toward Place Masséna, for the opening of the carnival.
Festivities during which the traditional flower battle will take place. In utmost secrecy, the floral floats have been prepared in the north of Nice.
Yesterday afternoon, a preview visit of the flower battle floats was organized for the press.
It is Nicole Merlino, deputy to Christian Estrosi, who hosts the press. The whole set of floats is presented during this preview.
Nicole Merlino stated: “The flowers are delivered in containers, then once on site, the florists prepare them,” she adds, “The florist mounts supports on the ‘naked’ float in which there is a special water-imbibed foam to stick the stems. The florist will stick the flower stem to give it shape and thus create the floral arrangement.”
All the specific flower features are pinned onto the carnival floats. The whole is called “floralie.”
Some floats are already flowered, others are 50% completed and for the rest they were done until 10 PM, when the workshops closed.
This year, the theme of the 134th Nice carnival is Space.
Nicole Merlino’s mission is to select competent florists, verify the number of flowers, and ensure that the quantities and qualities are respected.
And, like every year, there are references. The deputy mayor has been in the profession for 45 years. She used to be a flower buyer for resale in Lorraine. She knows the references.
A small preview of the floats you will soon see on the Nice carnival circuit.
