Châlons-en-Champagne Fair
Châlons-en-Champagne’s Fair, located in the Marne department, is an annual and essential event that has been taking place at the beginning of September since 1947. The fair is organized by the UCIA (the local commercial, industrial and traditional union), but the city of Châlons-en-Champagne and the conurbation are both contributing in majority to the smooth running of the event, thanks to subsidies, or partnership.[1]
Location
Châlons-en-Champagne’s fair is located less than 200 kilometers away from Paris and about 25 minutes from the Paris-Vatry airport. The city counts 45,000 inhabitants, and the current mayor is Benoist Apparu.
Foundation
Châlons-en-Champagne’s fair was created in 1947. The first fair took place between 13 and 21 September of the same year, at the “jard” (a closed park, located in the center of the city).[2] At that time, the fair was already dedicated to agricultural equipment (which were booming at the time) and to housing. Activities were taking place as well, such as acrobatics, or boxing matches.
Recent years
The fair left the ‘jard’ for the brand new exhibition park in 1969,[3] on the outskirts of the city, far from the traffic jams of the city-center. That same year also transformed the significance of the event, because the fair started to bring more and more exhibitors coming from across the whole country. Since 2012, the fair has been taking place inside the Capitole en Champagne,[4] built in place of the exhibition park.
It is today an annual and major event for the city. Châlons-en-Champagne’s fair is the second agricultural fair of France, which welcomed around 267,000 visitors during the 2019 edition, and around 2 million these last 10 years.[5]
Every year, around 800 exhibitors are present, and a vast group of sectors is represented on the 13 hectares of the fair: automobile, agricultural equipment, agriculture, decoration, gastronomy…
Political event
Châlons-en-Champagne’s fair is also the political event of the return of the summer holidays. Indeed, several political personalities from all backgrounds have attended the fair: presidents François Hollande or Nicolas Sarkozy] or Manuel Valls, Bruno Le Maire, Lionel Jospin and François Baroin.
"Foire en Scène" music festival
During the whole week, the fair is also hosting the music festival named "Foire en Scène" – named like this in 2011 by the UCIA – which brings a lot of diversified concerts.[6] During the 2019 edition, numerous singers have performed: Maitre Gims, Zaz, Keen’V, Amir, Kendji Girac, Salvatore Adamo, Pascal Obispo, Kassav, Patrick Bruel, or Patrick Sébastien. The "Foire en Scène" music festival is dedicated to all the generations and there are various music styles represented.
References
- ↑ [1], L'Hebdo du Vendredi, Châlons vole au secours de sa Foire (2018).
- ↑ [2], France Bleu, l'histoire de la Foire de Châlons-en-Champagne, du moyen-âge à nos jours.
- ↑ [3], L'Union, racontez-nous votre Foire de Châlons-en-Champagne de 1969, la première au parc des expositions (2019).
- ↑ [4], Le Capitole en Champagne
- ↑ [5], Châlons Tourisme, 74ème Foire de Châlons.
- ↑ [6], Foire en Scène
External links
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