It was already twenty years ago. The Music Festival was celebrated in style on the square in front of La Défense with a monumental concert, sixteen years after the spectacular show by Jean-Michel Jarre given in July 1990 on the esplanade of La Défense.
At the foot of the Grande Arche, tens of thousands of spectators then gathered in front of a large stage forty meters long and fifteen meters high. The show, lasting almost four hours, produced by Carson Prod, was broadcast in prime time and live on France 2.
Presented live by Anthony Kavanagh, the evening featured an impressive line-up of French and international artists. Florent Pagny, Patrick Bruel, Pascal Obispo, Laurent Voulzy, Raphaël, Marc Lavoine, Corneille, Natasha St-Pier, Tina Arena, Bob Sinclar, M. Pokora, Olivia Ruiz, Nadiya, Nolwenn Leroy, Juanes, Anggun, Amel Bent, Lorie, Bénabar and the Pussycat Dolls followed one another on scene.
The evening opened shortly after 9 p.m. with Nadiya’s “Here we go,” after the master of ceremonies appeared at the top of the Arch. Then it was the trio bringing together Yannick Noah, Laurent Voulzy and Patrick Bruel who took the stage on “Rock Collection”. In the process, the Pussycat Dolls launched hostilities with “Don’t Cha”, before Tina Arena performed “Loving until impossible”, followed by Amel Bent on “Eye of the Tiger”. Raphael then took over with “Schengen”, before Anthony Kavanagh began to sing “Light the Fire”.
The audience then continued with Corneille and Gage on “The Sun Gives”, before Juanes who performed “La Camisa Negra”. Nolwenn Leroy offered two titles, “Natural History” and “Nolwenn Ohwo!” “, while Cock Robin covered “The Promise You Made”. Najoua Belyzel sang “Gabriel”, Patrick Bruel “Letter to Father Christmas” and Pascal Obispo “Die tomorrow”, before Saya performed “I think of you”.
Natasha St-Pier and Tina Arena then found themselves in a duet on “I’m Every Woman”, followed by Anthony Kavanagh with “Your Man”. Mr. Pokora ignited the audience with “She controls me”, then Bénabar continued with “Le Dîner”. The Sun King troupe offered an extract from its musical comedy, before the return of Nadiya with “Roc” and Laurent Voulzy with “Dernier Kiss”.
Juanes returned to the stage with “A Dios Le Pido”, then Lorie continued with a medley of her hits “Ensorcelée”, “Sur un air latino” and “Parti pour zouker”. Corneille continued with “The Dream Merchants”, before the return of the six girls from Pussycat Dolls on “Beep”.
Céline Dion – who will perform in September and October 2026 then in May 2027 at the Paris La Défense Arena – then appeared via a sequence recorded in Las Vegas with “So that you love me again”. Pascal Obispo and Melissa Mars performed “1980”, then Anthony Kavanagh covered “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”. Beatriz Luengo and Vincent Niclo sang “Duel in the Sun” by Étienne Daho, followed by the group Raï’N’B Fever with “C’est chô ça brûle”.
Bob Sinclar then took the lead with “World Hold On”, the highlight of the evening, accompanied by a small fireworks display. Bénabar and Olivia Ruiz continued with “Ma p’tite song”, then Tina Arena returned to the stage with “Je m’appelle Bagdad”. Anthony Kavanagh then performed “Kiss” by Prince.
Anggun and Ginie Line joined forces on “Hot Stuff”, Natasha St-Pier sang “Ce silence”, Amine performed “J’voulais”, and Beatriz Luengo continued with “Hit Lerele”. The Sun King troupe returned with “Live or survive”, followed by Anggun on “Just before you”.
Olivia Ruiz then sang “J’traîne des pieds”, then Nolwenn Leroy sang again “Foule sentimentale”. Anis performed “Integration”, M. Pokora returned with “Oh la la la”, and Dave continued with “Vanina” then “All alone like a grown-up”.
The Abbagold group then offered a medley of ABBA hits (“Waterloo”, “Money Money Money”, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”, “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”). Yves Jamait performed “What are you doing?”, Anthony Kavanagh covered “Purple Rain”, Myriam Abel sang “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, then Ginie Line and David Parienti performed “It’s not ordered”.
But, on this first day of summer, the rain had come to somewhat disrupt the festivities. The evening was also slightly disturbed by a few scuffles between hecklers and the police mobilized to secure the event.
Twenty years later, this giant concert remains one of the most important musical events ever organized outdoors at La Défense and, above all, the last of its kind before Jean-Michel Jarre’s masterful show. From now on, to treat yourself to an XXL concert, you have to go to the Paris La Défense Arena, renamed Plenitude Arena.
The setlist for the evening can be found here.
