The people of Lyon did what they always do on December 8, they lit candles and put them on their windowsills and in public places. Normally it is to
ADVERTISEMENTThe people of Lyon did what they always do on December 8, they lit candles and put them on their windowsills and in public places. Normally it is to celebrate the Festival of Light, but this year everything was different.
Instead of the world famous event, which was cancelled for security reasons, the French city paid tribute to the 130 victims of last month’s Paris attacks.
Only one of the 80 installations created for the festival was retained. That was by artist Daniel Knipper, who projected faces from works of art on to the front of buildings, followed by the names of the Paris victims.
“First names are much more touching and affect us all much more than our last names,” Knipper told euronews.
“When I wrote them by hand to reproduce them on these buildings, I found the names of my children, friends’ names, etc. It was very moving.”
Lyon lights up names of Paris victims in sombre tribute https://t.co/NlcL9DF6W9pic.twitter.com/suFMOf4DYG
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) December 8, 2015
Normally three million people visit Lyon over the four-day festival . This year the city’s main square was simply decorated with 200,000 candles which were sold and lit, with all proceedings going to associations that support the victims of terrorism.
Reporting for euronews Anja Bencze said: “The light festival was cancelled, but still the people came out onto the streets.
“December 8 is an important day for Lyon. Rarely has it been as emotional as this time. The candles are a sign of solidarity, uniting the people of this city.”