The small town of Esquerchin in the North will host a large Christmas market on December 14 and 15, 2024, entirely offered by a ready-to-wear brand. Highlight of the festivities: the presence of the influencer Inoxtag, for a sold-out meeting.
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More than 10,000 people are expected in Esquerchin, a small village in the North, on December 14, 2024. Nestled between Douai and Hénin-Beaumont, this rural commune of 914 inhabitants is rather peaceful in nature. Residents of Church Square are more used to seeing a few craft markets pass by than welcoming large gatherings of young people, eager to meet their idol.
However, this is indeed what the town has in store for its residents next weekend. An XXL Christmas market, organized by the ready-to-wear brand Célio, will appear for 48 hours in the quiet lands of Esquerchin, from December 14 to 15. A campaign that the brand has been running since last November for its Advent calendar, inviting itself to three small French towns, including Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (Corrèze) and Goult (Vaucluse)every weekend until Christmas.
9-metre Ferris wheel, ice rink, climbing wall, wooden chalets… A whole program of activities, planned to allow the magic of Christmas to invade the small Henine town. But don't expect to find figurines and decorations to place in your tree among the stands, this big marketing move will mainly highlight items from the Célio brand.
Highlight of the show of these 24 hours of Christmas market: the presence of the influencer and videographer Inoxtag, one of the favorite personalities of 11-14 year olds, who will come from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. this Saturday on the Christmas market, to meet his fans and sign autographs.
The lucky ones were able to access the link shared two weeks ago by Célio, which allowed them to register for the planned meeting with the YouTuber with 8.8 million subscribers. Because places are unfortunately limited, and the event is already full. Only around 200 people will be able to come and shake the hand of the 22-year-old young man, who it will still be possible to see in the middle of the crowd. The other free activities remain open and accessible throughout the weekend.
“But what is happening to us?!“The mayor of Esquerchin, Thierry Boury, is still in shock. Four months ago, the Célio brand contacted the municipal council to present its project. Finally selected, the municipality was officially selected in mid-November, to represent Hauts-de-France.
“It's huge for a town of 914 inhabitants to be entitled to a Christmas market worth 80,000 euros and not have to pay anything… Except for electricity for the four chalets.“Usually, Esquerchin is satisfied with the Christmas trees organized by its fourteen associations, whose dynamic network is the pride of the town hall. This is therefore the first time that a Christmas market has seen the light of day in the town.”And we will remember this one for a long time! We are given a very nice gift“, rejoices Thierry Boury.
We knew we were going to have meetings planned with YouTubers, but we didn't know who.
Thierry Boury, mayor of Esquerchin
A few weeks ago, the councilor was still unaware of the identity of the influencers who would invest his town. “I'm 47 years old so when I heard about Inoxtag it didn't mean anything to me. But I had seen his film Kaizen a few days before so I quickly recognized him, I'm glad it was him.“In September, the videographer distinguished himself by releasing a documentary film on his preparation and his climb of Everest in just one year. The video, freely available on YouTube, has now had almost 40 million views.
Obviously, the creation of this first Christmas market gives a taste of coming back to the town hall. In the years to come, the municipal council hopes to be able to undertake actions of the same type, but “with square dimension“Until then, residents could go to Douai or Cuincy to stroll through Christmas-themed alleys, mulled wine and waffles in hand.
