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Unbelievable Paris! 
Eiffel Tower, burning bright
Ever since, our very own star has shown her preference for costumes of light. From 1925 to 1936 she cut through the night with, on three sides, the biggest advertisement in the world: 250,000 light bulbs of every colour forming the name of a leading brand of French car in giant letters, Art Deco style. It was visible from a distance of 25 miles. In 1937, Paris was treated to the tower in the form of gigantic candelabra, a perfect match for the City of Light: over 6 miles of fluorescent tubes and 30 powerful projectors bathed the metallic structure in shades of blue, white, red and gold and each evening, dazzling fountains of light burst forth from its platforms. For the delight of children of all ages, Paris’ First Lady was turned into an enormous Christmas tree in 1978, illuminated by 30,000 stars. 1995 was the year that was designated by UNESCO as the year of tolerance. For that occasion, on 14 July, the Eiffel tower became the centrepiece for a fantastic free concert given by Jean-Michel Jarre, a combination of electronic music, lasers and firework displays, a gift that left Parisians and visitors alike spellbound. At midnight on 5 April 1997, exactly 1,000 days before the Year 2000, a giant countdown was launched, displayed on the 2nd level of the tower. The days were marked off one by one until 31 December 1999 when, on the stroke of midnight, they made way for an amazing pyrotechnical display shown on television in every corner of the planet. Everyone agreed that it was the most magical entry into the Year 2000, and the image of the Eiffel Tower sparkling in all its finery is still fresh in people’s minds. From this extravaganza the tower has retained its beacon and its twinkling lights, made up of 20,000 spots which give it the brilliance of a jewel night after night. More recently, the tower celebrated the Chinese New Year, dressed all in red, on 24 January 2004, as part of the Year of China in France, sporting this striking scarlet glow for 5 days. Every evening, the tower sparkles again and again like diamonds in the darkness…
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Paris is far from being a low-key city... Prepare yourselves for anything, because here the wildest dreams can come true in all kinds of spectacular, wonderful and lyrical ways. Imagine the Champs-Elysées transformed into a huge field of corn ready to be harvested; the Pont Neuf bridge wrapped up like a parcel by Christo, or the Eiffel Tower sparkling in shades of scarlet on the occasion of the Chinese New Year. So keep your eyes wide open, Paris and its monuments are putting on a show…
In the list of Parisian sights that are regularly at the heart of the most dramatic projects, the Eiffel Tower always takes pride of place. Indeed, isn’t the tower itself a folly, standing at 324 metres high? Its inauguration in 1889 was proof enough of the daring of Paris and its French engineers, there for the whole world to see.