After a long day of commemoration, a tribute concert took place on the Promenade du Paillon. Tears mingled with the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Choir of the Nice Opera.
It all starts with 86 pebbles. The moving film traces the journey of these pebbles to the Himalayas. It is the Nice association “Exploits sans Frontière” that placed these symbolic stones painted in blue-white-red and bearing the name of each victim. During the 8-minute film, time stood still. The audience watches in silence. Only a few tears break the silence.
Next comes the reading of poems by eight artists, including Michel Boujenah, Michèle Laroque, Elsa Zylberstein, François Berléand, Michel Legrand, Patrick Chesnais, Line Renaud, and Patrick Timsit. All accompanied by the orchestra and choir.
Even though a quarter of the audience left, the rest were able to enjoy a fifty-minute concert. As time went by, those present realized that the music was evolving. The closer the time of the attack approached, the darker the works became.
22:34. A year ago, horror struck Nice. But today it was a minute of silence that marked the city. To conclude this beautiful evening, Calogero took the stage to perform “Les feux d’artifices”. Overcome with emotion, the singer could not finish his song. But the audience does not hold it against him. On the contrary, they encourage him with long applause and whistles.
During the instrumental part of the song, white balloons representing the 86 angels were released. “They are pearls in the sky joining the stars,” noted a woman from the audience. Those around her nodded in agreement with sadness. Then it was off to the Promenade des Anglais where 86 beams of light were illuminated.
