In the P3 car park at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, the Poney Club is gradually establishing itself as a real ephemeral city dedicated to electronic music. Since the beginning of May, around twenty technicians have been working daily to transform this vast space into an open air space, which will be able to accommodate up to 4,500 people from Wednesday June 3. The site is entering its final stretch before the opening of the summer season. Report on an extraordinary construction site.
Since the beginning of May, the P3 car park at Toulouse-Blagnac airport has been transformed into a huge open-air construction site. In a few days, the site will once again host the Pony Club, which has become in a few years the biggest electro event of the Toulouse summer, which attracts fans from all over France and even abroad. Last year, 115,000 spectators came, attracted by stars like The Chemical Brothers, Carl Cox and Boris Brejcha. The opening is scheduled for Wednesday June 3, 2026 with the duo Bon Entendeur. But before the concerts and international DJs, it’s time for semi-trailers, aerial platforms and kilometers of cables.
“At the beginning, we are closer to a public works site than to a festival,” smile Amine Britel and Laura Brousse, associated in this wonderful affair with Guénàël de Kermel. For the past month, around twenty people have been working daily to bring out this giant open air space capable of accommodating up to 4,500 people per evening.
52 containers for the walls
The ballet of trucks began with the arrival of the 52 containers which now surround the site. Their role is essential: they serve as sound insulation, stacked on top of each other to build walls. Then it’s the offices, the bars, the toilets which are arranged gradually… “Everything arrives in kit form, each object must find its exact place, explains Laura Brousse. This year, it’s happening calmly, we’re starting to get good at it!”
Little by little, the raw parking lot is transformed into a real ephemeral city. Scenographers, lighting technicians, stage managers, plumbers, electricians, beer system installers and delivery men follow one another on the site. “We are a hybrid place. Between the atmosphere of a festival and a real concert hall,” summarizes the team.
Year after year, the Pony Club strengthens its technical system. The site will be equipped with the latest L2 system from L-Acoustics, considered one of the most efficient sound systems of the moment. An impressive installation thought out over several months. “The sound design takes us between three and six months minimum in advance, explains Simon Gabriel, the “Mr. Sound” of the Pony Club. We work with 3D models to plan the covered areas, the quieter areas and limit the propagation of sound to the outside as much as possible.”
A state-of-the-art system
In total, nearly 70 speakers will be distributed throughout the site. “The more speakers we have, the more we can homogenize the sound without having to push the volume very loudly in one place,” he explains. The objective: to offer an identical experience in the front row as at the back of the site, while providing quieter spaces to the sides. The new system also allows the sound to be directed forward in order to greatly reduce its diffusion behind the stage. A philosophy assumed by the Pony Club: “It’s much more advanced than a simple festival put on for a few days.”
Bar èshooters, scene suréfunction
Among the new features this year, the place is inaugurating a shooter bar in partnership with the Monin brand and has revised the organization of its drinks areas. The side bars disappear in favor of two large central poles, designed to streamline orders. The main stage has also been raised by almost two metres, which will improve the visibility of the public and offer greater comfort to the artists. For catering, six food trucks will offer varied offerings, including the Prima, Tommy’s and Kumquat brands.
53 shows au programme
The programming also continues to grow. The Poney Club will host 53 shows this season, compared to 38 last year, confirming its rise in power in the French electro landscape. The season promises to be grandiose, with Moby, Jean-Michel Jarre, Deborah de Lucca, Cerrone and many others. The event also has a solidarity dimension: one euro will be donated to the Petits Frères des Pauvres association for each signature Poney cocktail sold.
While waiting for the first bass sounds and the crowded dance floors, the P3 car park still resonates mainly with the noise of the nacelles, hammers and truck engines. But in Blagnac, the countdown is on.
