The one-night-only event is set to make a serious splash.
Oh, Paris. Some of us may have thrown many a covetous glance at the city of love over the years, and this summer, there’s another reason to be green with envy. A pop-up floating cinema, bobbing on the waters of the Bassin de La Villette, will be setting up for one-night only on July 18, and I seriously think Chicago needs to nick this idea sharpish.
Yes, this summer drive-in cinemas seem to just keep popping up around the city but we would never turn down the opportunity to get another one. Think of all the lakes, lidos, rivers, and canals that are crying out for a floating cinema!
The Parisian floating cinema, in which guests will be sat in a fleet of smart electric boats, has emerged from a partnership between the City of Paris, Häagen-Dazs, and the MK2 cinema chain, who are handling the technical stuff. It’s all to support the return of Paris Plages, an annual event which sees the banks of the Seine and Bassin de La Villette turned into a seaside resort, complete with pop-up swimming pools, riverside deckchairs, and volleyball courts.
With only one night of cinema on offer, you’d be correct in thinking that only one film will be screened: it’s Gilles Lellouche’s comedy Le Grand Bain, which sees a group of middle-aged men try their hand at synchronized swimming. Guests will be able to snag a seat in those electric boats (which seat two to six people), or sink into one of 150 deckchairs that will be set up on the shoreline. If you’re in Paris, or planning a trip, you can register for tickets here – winning tickets will be drawn by lots on July 15. Should you be lucky enough to win tickets, I’d kindly ask you to steal anything not nailed down on the way out, so that we can get this going in Chicago too!