The Techno Parade in Paris celebrated its 25th anniversary in style on Saturday, September 23. The event broke its attendance record, gathering around 400,000 partygoers in the streets of the capital, according to the organizers.
The annual techno music event was launched in 1998 thanks to former Minister of Culture, Jack Lang. During the first edition on September 19, 1998, 200,000 people gathered “in defense and recognition of electronic music.”
25 years later, the goal remains the same, as explained by Tommy Vaudecranne, the president of Technopol, the event organizer, on FranceInfo on September 21. “When we started, we needed to exist, to be recognized, for electronic music gatherings to stop being demonized and systematically prohibited […] Today, we have passed this stage, but we remain vigilant on acceptance issues.”
This year, the organizers estimated the participation at 400,000, a record since the beginning of the event.
“There were 25 years ago when techno was criticized. Today, it is accepted. We have seen it today: from generation to generation, the techno movement proves that it is joyful and peaceful,” added Jack Lang, who was approached for numerous selfies by partygoers in Place de la Bastille before the start of the floats.
In 25 years, the Techno Parade claims to have covered 143 km in the streets of Paris, with over 350 floats, 2,000 DJs, and 6.3 million participants.
