At Lollapalooza Paris, 'rather high social status' festivalgoers seek to let loose

LeMonde

6 days ago

Saturday, July 19, 3:41 pm, in Paris. At La Motte-Piquet Grenelle metro station, on the platform of metro line 10 heading toward Boulogne, the atmosphere was strikingly divergent from that of a typical Paris weekend afternoon. Between the flashy outfits, glittery makeup and palpable excitement, there was no doubt: A good share of the metro's passengers were on their way to Lollapalooza. The music festival, organized by Live Nation, took place at the Hippodrome de Longchamp over the whole weekend. On Friday, July 18, Olivia Rodrigo and Benson Boone took to the festival's main stages, setting the crowd of tens of thousands of people on fire. On Saturday, the spotlight turned to American rapper Macklemore and French DJ David Guetta.
Everyone had their own travel strategy: The most determined cracked open their first can of beer, while others opted for coffee, all while stifling a few yawns. As the festival site came into view, unusual types of headgear began to crop up, ranging from rainbow propeller caps to cowboy hats.
Once on-site, partygoers wandered between the festival's five stages and enjoyed the first concerts – French rapper Franglish, Canadian rock band Mother Mother and Cape Verdean R&B singer Ronisia – before the evening's two headliners arrived. Dozens of Colombian jerseys added color to the crowd, worn by fans of rising reggaeton star Feid, who hails from Medellin. Diego, draped in Colombia's yellow, blue, and red flag, waited eagerly for the South American star. The 30-something had come with his group of friends, all Colombian. They work in Paris, in managerial positions. "We're here for all three days and, so far, it's really well organized, the concerts are worth it," said Diego, delighted.