Diane Kruger Lights Up the Champs Elysees for Christmas

German actress Diane Kruger turns on the Christmas lights along Paris' Champs-Elysees. This year the decorations have a particularly traditional design after last year's avant-garde lite experiment received a cool reception.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

World

Topics

Europe, Celebrity

People

Diane Kruger

Places

France, Paris

Transcript

SHOTLIST : PARIS, NOV 21, 2012, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of Diane Kruger, Pairs Mayor Bertrand Delanoé and others turning on the lights - VAR of Christmas lights along the Champs Elysees /// -------------------------------------------------------- AFP BACKGROUND TEXT: Lifestyle-France-tourism-Christmas Bring Christmas back to Champs-Elysees, say Parisians PARIS, Nov 8, 2012 (AFP) - The Champs Elysees are to get their traditional Christmas lights back, after a one-year avant-garde experiment was grumpily received by Parisians, the avenue's traders association said on Thursday. Actress Diane Kruger will turn on the lights on November 21, changed back to "reinforce the Christmassy feel". Last year the avenue was kitted out with a conceptual light display by design duo Koert Vermeulen and Marcos Vinals, each of its 200 trees hung with three huge coloured energy-saving hoops. But two thirds of passers-by questioned in an IFOP survey at the time said the display -- while innovative -- had moved "too far away from the traditional image of Christmas." This year's display has been revamped to bring back a more "fairytale quality," explained the traders' group. In addition to the coloured hoops, the trees will be decked out with seven metres (yards) of sparkling garlands, creating giant curtains of light running down the famed avenue. As was the case last year, the entire set-up will be fuelled by a solar farm, part of a drive that has slashed the annual display's energy consumption by 90 percent since 2006. END