French electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre is set to perform at the Closing Ceremony for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris next month. The ceremony will celebrate France's vast contribution to electronic music, with no fewer than 24 live acts and DJs performing at the Stade de France on September 8.
Joining Jarre on the line-up will be Agoria, Alan Braxe, Anetha, Boston Bun, Breakbot & Irfane, Busy P, Cassius, Chloe, Chloé Caillet, DJ Falcon, Étienne de Crecy, GЯEG, Irène Drésel, Kavinsky, Kiddy Smile, Kittin Kungs, Martin Solveig, Nathalie Duchene, Ofenbach, Polo & Pan, Tatyana Jane and The Avener.
Jarre will be opening and closing the ceremony, delivering a performance that encompasses a selection of music drawn from his five-decade career.
Speaking with Le Parisien, Jarre said he's "very happy" to be taking part in this "celebration of sport and French electro in all its diversity... We are going to celebrate what brings together the most people on the planet: sport and electronic music."
Speaking to MusicRadar in 2022, Jarre talked us through his live set-up. "I’m using a mix of analogue gear," he said. "I have a Memorymoog, I’m using an Italian modular synth, the GR-8, which is quite amazing. It’s modular but, instead of cables, these guys have used switches, it’s quite cool. I’m always using a VCS3, from EMS, it’s my pet [laughs]. It was my first instrument, so I always have this on stage."
Cassius' performance will see the duo's surviving member Boombass perform without his former collaborator Philippe ‘Zdar’ Cerboneschi for the first time since Zdar's death in 2019, with Boombass' one-off DJ set presented as a tribute to his former partner.
Earlier this month, a line-up of French artists that included Justice, Air, Phoenix, and Billie Eilish performed at the Olympics Closing Ceremony. Daft Punk, surely France's most famous electronic export, were reportedly asked to perform in 2023, but declined.
