After eleven days of disabled sports that extended the fervor that began on July 26 with the Olympic Games, Paris is closing a page of its history with the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organized this Sunday, September 8. The evening, broadcast live on France 2, began with a performance by the singer Santa. Dressed in a brown drape tied at the waist, with a huge train and a massive hood, reminiscent of the outfit boxers wear before entering the ring, the 31-year-old artist sang the title Live for the best of Johnny Hallyday (whom she had the chance to meet in the past), from the Stade de France.
Treading the stage that the rocker who died in 2017 inhabited in 1998, the young woman made her vocal cords vibrate by offering a feminine interpretation of this song that was memorable to say the least. As for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the weather was not clement in the capital and Santa (real name Samanta Cotta) was hit by torrential rain during her performance. Not enough to stop her, nor to prevent the setting up of pyrotechnic effects adding dimension to her cover. The least we can say is that this performance probably reminded Johnny Hallyday’s biggest fans of the latter’s own concert in the rain at the Stade de France, in September 1998.
Show must go on !
When he went on stage, the artist had to face heavy rain, but the spirit of rock’n’roll allowed the father of David Hallyday, Laura Smet, Jade and Joy to offer an incredible moment to his audience, even if he was soaked. Previously, the first date of the show (September 4) had been canceled a few minutes before it started, due to already catastrophic weather. The concert scheduled for September 11, 1998 (those of September 5 and 6 had been maintained) had finally also been affected by the rain, but the show continued without a hitch, with further proof that nothing stopped Johnny Hallyday during a show and certainly not the inclement weather.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
Photo credits: France 2 screen capture
