Johnny Hallyday, the legendary French rocker, continues to thrill his fans, even six years after his passing. His musical and cultural legacy is showcased through an exhibition that started in Brussels and is now coming to Paris.
The exhibition, designed in close collaboration with Laeticia Hallyday and the Belgian agency Tempora, specializing in exhibitions, required a substantial budget of 8.5 million euros. Its inauguration in Brussels attracted about 50,000 visitors in three months, a figure below the expected 150,000.
The next stage of this exhibition in Paris is scheduled to start on Friday, December 22 at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, and will run until June 19. The opening coincides with the holiday season, also marked by the anniversary of Johnny Hallyday’s passing on December 5, 2017.
The organizers hope that the exhibition will be better received in France, Johnny Hallyday’s native country, where his popularity has never waned. The recent success of his album Made in Rock’n’Roll, as well as another compilation of his songs in symphonic version, attests to the ongoing enthusiasm for the singer’s work.
The exhibition presents various aspects of Johnny’s life and career, including reconstructions of important places, such as his teenage bedroom and his office at the villa in Marnes-la-Coquette. Archival images and personal items of the musician are on display, all accompanied by comments from actor Jean Reno, a close friend of Johnny.
The mixed success of the exhibition in Brussels, with an average daily attendance of 440 visitors, questions its reception in Paris. The organizers are banking on a more receptive Parisian audience, hoping to reach a total of 400,000 visitors over a year.