A giant picnic on the Champs-Élysées, this is the unusual event which was held this Sunday, May 26, 2024. After the giant cinema then the largest dictation, nearly 4,000 people won the right to have lunch on the gingham tablecloth set up on the most beautiful avenue in the world.
Unusual, Paris hosted a unique experience of its kind: a huge picnic on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue. This Sunday May 26, 2024this event brought together approximately 4,000 participants around a sheet extended between rue Arsène Houssaye and avenue George V.
Having already transformed the Champs-Élysées in Movie room and record location for a giant dictation, Ubi Bene and the Champs-Élysées Committee have imagined a new initiative: a free picnic and open to all. THE registrations for this event, completely free, generated no less than 273,000 registered on the platform.
The participants, drawn at random Tuesday, May 21didn’t have to worry about anything during this giant picnic, where everything was planned: packed baskets, delicious food, comfortable cushions, and fun activities. In the program, 8 pop-up kitchens run by local restaurateurs, the picnickers were drawn at random. Each restaurateur followed common specifications, offering a menu reflecting their culinary identity. From Flora Danica to Café Joyeux via Ladurée and Fouquet’s, the menus were all different.
Two services were scheduled at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., allowing you to take full advantage of the exceptionally pedestrian avenue of the Star’s Plaza until George V for the afternoon. And one thing is certain, the participants were indeed there.
Discover the Grand Picnic on the Champs-Élysées in video:
This exceptional event had as guest of honor the chef William Gomez, Meilleur Ouvrier de France and former chef of the kitchens of the Élysée. Today, he promotes the “French style” meal throughout the world. Nothing more French than a picnic on a checkered tablecloth!
An eco-responsible framework
Note that the event aims to be eco-responsible: the tablecloth of 4,212 square meters by 216 meters long, decorated with red and white checks, is made from 100% recycled fabrics. Efforts have been made to minimize the environmental impact of the event, with sorting bins available and fountains to fill participants’ water bottles, in collaboration with Eau de Paris. There will be no waste either since the Le Chaînonmissant association will collect the surplus food.
Traffic restrictions
Due to the Grand Picnic on the Champs-Élyséesseveral lanes are closed to traffic this Sunday, May 26, from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. :
- Avenue des Champs Elysées, between avenue George V and rue Arsène Houssaye
- Rue Galilée, between rue Vernet and avenue des Champs-Elysées;
- Rue Balzac, between Rue Lord Byron and Avenue des Champs-Elysées;
- Rue Bassano, between rue Vernet and avenue des Champs-Elysées.
From 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., a temporary pedestrian area within the perimeter formed by the following streets of the 8th arrondissement: rue Arsène Houssaye, rue Lord Byron, rue Chateaubriand, rue Washington, rue d’Artois, rue de Berri, rue de Ponthieu , avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champs-Élysées – Marcel Dassault roundabout (west part), avenue Montaigne, rue François 1ᵉʳ, avenue George V, rue Vernet, avenue Marceau and rue de Presbourg. The circulation of motor vehicles is prohibited within this perimeter for the duration of the event. The traffic ban does not apply to the aforementioned lanes delimiting the perimeter.
In short, this big picnic Champs Elysées is a unique event that participants will remember. It could even be part of a world record.
