Bikers, a giant Harley and a candidate for the Elysée… What will the homage to Johnny Hallyday look like? – LCI

With an incredible record of 101 concerts, Johnny Hallyday is the artist who has performed the most – by far – in the grounds of the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, renamed Accor Arena in 2020. Almost four years after the death of the rocker, the esplanade in front of the famous auditorium will be renamed in his name, the first act of a day of celebration organized by Laeticia Hallyday. “It is the culmination of two years of work, of several postponements due to the coronavirus.“, explains the widow this Monday in The Parisian.

The inauguration, in the presence of the mayor of the capital Anne Hidalgo, many relatives of Johnny and a gathering of 150 bikers, will be punctuated by the unveiling of a giant sculpture by the artist Bertrand Lavier. This work, which consists of a stainless steel pole representing a guitar neck, at the top of which sits a Harley Davidson, had been widely criticized by some of the elected officials of the municipal majority during a stormy Paris council in early July. .

“The work seems to us more to honor a certain brand of motorcycles than Johnny Hallyday himself, in a form of snub to some of the policies pursued by our majority.“, declared the mayor EELV Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie.”Yes, it’s a motorcycle, but it doesn’t pollute, it’s a work of art“, replied Anne Hidalgo, the future presidential candidate believing that”one of the functions of art” is of “arouse controversy“.

No controversy, however, about Johnny’s Bar, which will be inaugurated inside the Accor Arena and which was fitted out by the teams of the performance hall on the model of the Hard Rock Café. In the evening, Johnny’s musicians will be joined on stage by a host of singers for a tribute concert, broadcast live on France 2. Among them Florent Pagny, Kendji Girac, Louane, Calogero, Patrick Bruel, Jenifer, Julien Doré, Yodelice, Zucchero or the actor Gad Elmaleh.

The one who will not be on stage, on the other hand, is David Hallyday. In The Parisian, Laeticia explains that she proposed to the eldest of the rocker to come and interpret the hit “Sang pour Sang” but that he declined the invitation. Laura Smet was also invited, in vain, reveals the young woman who does not despair of picking up the pieces, after the legal battle around the legacy of Johnny.

“I couldn’t imagine this event without them. Things have calmed down a bit, but our relationship remains complicated“, she explains.”I tried to renew the dialogue, to appease the resentments, the unspoken (…) I hope we will one day manage not to speak to each other through a lawyer. “