A spectacular fireworks performance will be displayed on the night of December 31 in Paris to celebrate the New Year, as well as Paris’s candidature to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Emanating from the Jardin des Tuileries and from the Grande Roue - occasionally installed on the Place de la Concorde - the fireworks display will be easily visible from the Champs- Elysées.

As a testimony of "L’Amour des Jeux", the Grande Roue will be adorned with mention of "Paris 2012", reinforcing France’s love of sports and demonstrating its appreciation for tradition and festivities.

The pyrotechnic spectacle will commence around 23.50 hours, will be eight minutes in duration and utilize one ton of fireworks material - twice the amount traditionally used during the fireworks celebration on the 14 July Bastille Day, which lasts 30 minutes. The fireworks will be displayed in a particularly accelerated rhythm and some of the projectiles will reach a height of approximately 150 metres.