The ‘Nuit Blanche’ concept originated in France..
“where every gallery, museum and bookshop is open until midnight or later and the whole city becomes one giant performance and carnival venue.” Wikipedia
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Many cities around the world now host White Nights..Toronto, Montreal,Paris, Brussels, Rome, Madrid, Riga, Bucharest, Valletta etc.
Australia’s first White Night, in Melbourne, is to be a night like no other! Many street will be turned into pedestrian thoroughfares from 7pm to 7am on Saturday 23 February 2013 and Flinders Street Station will be transformed into a music amphitheatre hosting a free concert under the cover of darkness.
Melbourne’s program will feature more than 100 local and international artists, activities and acts across 35 sites throughout the city centre. Felix Riebel of Melbourne band ‘Cat Empire’ will be the music director for the event.
There’ll be something for everybody:
For the first time, Melbourne institutions such as the Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Centre for Moving Image, the State Library and the Melbourne Museum, will simultaneously open late into the night, with special programming, exhibitions and performances.
• giant glowing spheres floating on the Yarra River projecting images of love in Melbourne
• stages set upon rolling tram cars on St Kilda Road featuring circus and musical snapshots
• an inflatable cinema screen on Birrarung Marr
• a Melbourne Conversations series hosted by John Safran featuring discussions around literature and philosophy and
• a giant outdoor dance event in Federation Square featuring hundreds of mirror balls and 12 different dance styles
‘Singing in the Sunrise’ will be a huge finale with musical acts and all White Night Melbourne artists will lead a procession from Flinders Street to Princes Bridge, to sing in the sunrise with attendees.
There will also be dozens of dining options available, from fine dining on Southbank to a ‘Pop up Food Village’ featuring food trucks on Flinders Street.
Quelle fête!