Iconic Parisian Department Store Celebrates Christmas with Airstar

	Photo courtesy of Le BHV MARAIS

Airstar, a designer and manufacturer of inflatable lighting technologies for the event and architecture industries, recently joined forces with Val d'Isère to inaugurate the "Christmas in the mountains" event, organized by the BVH MARAIS in the heart of Paris, France.

Airstar Europe deployed lighting balloons inside and out of this iconic Parisian department store, to celebrate the launch of the Christmas season. The lighting balloons were central to the plan with a presence in the roof of the BHV MARAIS, the observatory dome on the fifth floor, as well as in the festively decorated shopping window, in the legendary rue de Rivoli.

Airstar has worked with the Val d'Isère ski resort for over five years, on major events including the Airstar Night Light and the Critérium de la Première Neige international ski competition. "Airstar is proud to be involved in such a prestigious event and to extend our partnership with Val d'Isère," explains Emilie Chabert-Bailly, marketing director at Airstar. "This is a unique opportunity for us to bring the magical atmosphere that can be found in Val d'Isère during this festive period, and share it with Parisians and an international crowd."

The evening was marked by a countdown from the roof of the BHV MARAIS, lit up for the occasion by five DMX controlled Airstar Crystal 200 WR LED balloons fixed on a pole. They surrounded an impressive 5m-wide helium inflated Lunix 500 lighting balloon, onto which a videomapping of the planet Earth was projected.

Zooming in all the way to the Val d'Isère Mountains, the projection then glided down the BHV MARAIS building façade, unveiling hundreds of sparkling stars on the department store. Lit by the Crystal balloons on the roof, the official Val d'Isère ski instructors then undertook a vertical torchlight descent before letting suspended acrobats dressed in LED outfits perform a gravity-defying show.

Despite strong winds reaching over 60km/h on the roof, the show was a total success. Thierry Beynet, Airstar Europe key account and architectural manager, who oversaw the event confirms: "We anticipated difficult weather, so we secured the Lunix with a 300kg weight instead of the 50kg we usually use. The skills of our technicians, coupled with the quality of our balloons allowed for the show to unfold without a hitch."

Airstar's savoir-faire with such events, as well as the French manufacture of the products, guarantee the events run perfectly in difficult conditions. Despite being shaken by the winds, the powerful light source inside the balloon suffered no variation in intensity. According to Beynet, "it wouldn't have been possible to run the event with other balloons: the assembling quality and strength of the waterproof sewing were absolutely paramount to the success of this project."

Inside the BHV MARAIS, underneath the observatory dome, Airstar suspended 10 balloons of different size and shapes until New Year's Eve: Five Stars 160, one Lunix 250 LED RGB at the center (with variating colors) and four Crystal 160 in blue, white and red. They welcome the BHV MARAIS shoppers who are looking for Christmas decorations.

In one of the main shopping windows outside the department store, two red and blue Crystal 60 lighting balloons reproduce the atmosphere of the Val d'Isère ski resort during the Airstar Night Light.

Following the launch of the Christmas-themed shopping windows, over 200 VIP guests were welcomed by another Crystal balloon in Le BHV MARAIS l'Homme entrance where an after-party was organized.