Montpellier’s Cœur de ville event announced

Michaël Delafosse, mayor of Montpellier, introduced Cœur de ville as a lively event set to take place in Europe's largest pedestrian city center. The event was presented on November 2, 2021, at the Fabre Museum, with plans for the 2026 edition.

Event details and locations

Cœur de ville will run over three evenings, from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM, featuring 14 artistic creations across eight central locations. These include the Opéra Comédie, the Fabre Museum, the prefecture, and several other landmarks. Each display will last between 2 minutes 30 seconds and 10 minutes, with looping projections allowing visitors to move freely between sites.

Video game-inspired mapping at the Fabre Museum

The façade of the Fabre Museum will showcase a mapping inspired by video games developed in Montpellier. This project is led by Plug In Digital, which collaborates with local game studios, and produced by ID Scènes. The performance, titled L’Éveil, un voyage chromatique, will feature elements from several Montpellier-based games.

Collaborations and creative elements

The performance includes universes from games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Stray, and Rayman. Marina Garnier of ID Scènes explained that the cat Stray will be central to the narrative, using the museum’s façade as a playground. The soundtrack was composed by Yann Cléophas, and local studios such as Ubisoft Montpellier and Sandfall Interactive contributed to the project.

Immersive performance at the prefecture

The prefecture will host Galaxia, an immersive spectacle featuring projections on all walls, 20 powerful lasers, and a unique sound system. The performance blends astronomical imagery with views of Montpellier, using images from some of the world’s most beautiful telescopes.

Final act referencing pandemic experiences

The finale of Galaxia will bring the audience back to the city using images captured by firefighters during the Covid-19 confinement period, connecting the cosmic theme with local pandemic experiences.

Poetic performance at the Opéra Comédie

The Opéra Comédie will host Le Songe des animaux, a poetic exploration of life where fantastic animals, light, and architecture will merge on the façade. The organizers plan to use a single projection tower to highlight sponsors most affected by recent events.