MICE agencies · pyrotechnics and drone light shows
You’re in charge of the programme. The celesta provides the grand finale.
Conferences, international launches, gala evenings or incentive events: your delegates come from all corners of the globe, but they need to take home a shared experience. Celesta designs and produces the ultimate highlight of your corporate events: bespoke pyrotechnic shows and light drone shows executed with millimetre precision.
- Indoors and outdoors
- Safety file compiled for the site
- France, Europe, the Middle East, Asia
The dividing line
The programme is yours. The dramatic final minutes are ours.
A MICE event is judged on its flow. You’ve put together three days of plenary sessions, workshops and meals, and there’s one moment left to make it all come together: the moment when the audience stands up, looks up and falls silent. We focus solely on that moment, and we make the most of it.
MICE agencies
International launch, conference, incentive event: you’re looking for a highlight that will impress both the executive committee and guests from six countries. We’ll tailor it to the venue you’ve already booked.
Event management
Large-scale seminars, corporate anniversaries, formal events: you are responsible for the company’s image within the organisation. We create an experience that resonates with all audiences, without resorting to gimmicks.
Inbound agencies and DMCs
You are hosting foreign delegations in France and promoting a region. We showcase the venue – be it a château, a heritage site or an urban space – so that your guests take these memories home with them.
The four disciplines
Four texts, selected on the basis of the place and time that suit you.
At a MICE event, the venue isn’t chosen based on personal preference but out of necessity: a castle garden, an urban rooftop, a plenary hall and a harbour quay do not allow for the same kind of activities. Here’s what you can promise, and what we check before you make that promise.
What you promise
What we check
Fireworks displays and pyrotechnics
The story we tell at the office on Mondays. It presupposes an outdoor setting, a safe area and a neighbourhood suitable for the chosen time.
Regulatory distances from the firing point, prevailing wind directions, approval of the venue and prefecture declaration. Full details of the discipline can be found on the pyrotechnic show page.
Drone light show
The brand’s logo written in the sky, silently and with no fallout. The pitch resonates with an international audience and with a management team mindful of its environmental footprint.
Airspace above the site, proximity to an aerodrome, authorised altitude and application submitted at least forty-five days in advance. See the page on drone light shows.
Sound and light show
The solution when space is limited, it’s late at night or there are sensitive neighbours. It transforms a façade and a courtyard without producing any noise.
Acoustic assessment, possible fixing points on a listed building, the actual electrical power available on site, and installation times that fit in with your schedule.
Video mapping
The brand’s narrative projected onto the venue that hosts it. This is the approach that best conveys a heritage to guests who are discovering it for the first time.
A three-dimensional survey of the façade, the required setback for the spotlights, the ambient light levels at the site, and authorisation from the owner or the Architecte des Bâtiments de France.
What we cover
Four points on which A programme is being broadcast.
At a corporate event, the show is the final stage in what is already a lengthy process. These four points are all handled in-house, and that is what enables us to stick to a schedule down to the minute rather than by the hour.
In-house F4 pyrotechnicians
Whether at a secure site or in the presence of official guests, the venue requires details of who is firing and in what capacity. The answer is specific to an individual, and we have it.
Licensed storage facility
Conventions are concentrated into just a few weeks of the year. Our licensed storage facility means we do not have to rely on supplies during the peak season.
Timecode synchronisation
The running order allows a gap of one, or sometimes two, minutes between a speech and a segment. The timecode ensures that this is adhered to without any unnecessary margin for error.
A single point of contact
A single point of contact liaises with the venue, your production control team and your staff. On an international programme, this prevents decisions being made across three different time zones.
The shared timeline
Five stages, based on the pace of your programme.
We are joining a scheme that is already in place. Here is what we expect from you and what you can expect from us, step by step.
You
We
01
Just let us know the venue and the time
The venue, the date, the slot in the programme, the number of guests and where they’re coming from. These five factors are all you need to know what’s feasible.
01
We are assessing the site
Site constraints, airspace, the neighbourhood, heritage status. You’ll know within forty-eight hours what you can propose without taking any risks.
02
You hold the intention
The message of the play, the tone expected by the management, what the performance must convey without a single word being spoken.
02
We are writing the sequence
Scenario, choice of disciplines based on the constraints identified, musical score and cost estimate. The document is designed to be presented to your client as it stands.
03
You’ll be showing us round the venue
The stage manager’s contact details, the site’s rules and regulations, and the set-up slots agreed with the hotel or the château.
03
We engage with the place
Safety dossier, site layout plan, direct communication with the site manager and submission of declarations. You do not make any decisions on technical matters.
04
You secure the running order
The final schedule for the evening, including any last-minute changes. We adapt to your plans, not the other way round.
04
We set up and rehearse
Set-up outside of broadcast times, rehearsals, a safety briefing with the venue and confirmation of the go-ahead for the launch with your production control team.
05
You’re clearing the room
The only thing left for you to do that very evening is to get your guests to the right place at the right time. We’ll give you the exact location and time.
05
We launch and then withdraw
A team under production control, a flawless launch, followed by dismantling and restoring the site to its original condition before the following morning. The venue must be ready to welcome you back without reservation.
The two clocks
A programme is running late. Permits, no.
At a MICE event, the venue and date are finalised very early on, but the programme is subject to change right up until the last minute. This is manageable from a creative perspective, but not from an administrative one: the two clocks do not tick at the same speed.
3 to 6 months
The Time of Creation
The timeframe within which we commit to a full-scale production. The script, on the other hand, can continue to evolve well into the future: what needs to be finalised early on is the venue, the date and the art form, not the finer details of the story.
1 month · 45 days
The era of the administration
At least one month before a fireworks display, and at least forty-five days before a drone light flight. These minimum timeframes are not up to us or you: they determine the deadline for your arbitration.
48 h
Site classification
To find out what’s available at your venue
+20
Countries of operation
France, Europe, the Middle East, Asia
F4
Certification
Professional-level shooting
ICPE
Licensed storage facility
Availability during peak season
The venue has its own rules
The right person to speak to isn’t always the prefecture.
At a MICE event, the venue is booked before we are, and it has its own rules: a listed castle, a hotel, a conference centre and a plenary hall are not to be treated as if they were public land. It is often the venue manager, not the local authority, who gives the go-ahead – and it is we who will be speaking to them.
What the place demands of you
What we’re sorting out with him
A listed or heritage site
Protected façades, roofs and gardens; restricted access; in some cases, prior authorisation is required before any installation work can take place.
The file and the cover
We compile the documentation required by the site, specify the distances from protected areas and the physical protective measures to be put in place. Restoration work is included in the service.
An interior open to the public
A plenary hall or reception venue has its own safety officer, its own detectors and its own capacity limit. Not everything can be performed there.
Choosing interior design features
We tell you straight away what is permitted in the venue and what is not, and we confirm the agreed arrangements with the venue’s security manager before you commit to the event.
A neighbourhood and a cut-off time
A hotel in the city centre, local residents, and sometimes a local by-law setting a curfew on noise levels.
The calibre and the time
We adjust the volume levels and duration to fit within the permitted time, and we offer a silent performance – using drones or light – when the time slot no longer allows for noise.
Please let us know the venue and the time. We’ll let you know what’s available.
The venue, date, time slot and number of guests are all we need for an initial quote. You’ll receive a creative proposal and a cost estimate that you can present to your client as they stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What MICE agencies ask us first.
The venue has already been booked. Is there still time for you to get involved?
This is the most common scenario, which is why we start by assessing the site. Within forty-eight hours, we’ll let you know what is feasible at that specific location, at that specific time, and what isn’t. This means you’ll know what you can offer before making any commitments to your client.
Can you create a spectacular effect indoors?
On set, the framework is determined by the venue and its safety officer, not by us. We tell you straight away what is possible in that venue and we have the plan approved by the venue before you commit. If the interior isn’t suitable, the sequence is moved to a light display or outdoors.
How far in advance of the event should we book?
Allow three to six months for the entire production. There are two additional administrative requirements that are non-negotiable: at least one month’s notice before a fireworks display, and at least forty-five days’ notice before a drone light flight. The script, however, can continue to evolve well beyond that point.
Do you carry out work abroad for our delegations?
We operate in France, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Deadlines and authorisations vary from country to country: this is the first thing we check, even before assessing the artistic feasibility. A project outside France needs to be finalised earlier than a French project.
Our running order is on the move right up until the last minute. Is that a problem?
No, provided that the venue, date and discipline have been finalised. The launch takes place on your production control room’s cue and the sequence is synchronised to the timecode: any delay in the evening’s programme will not jeopardise the show. What cannot be made up for, however, are the authorisation deadlines.
How much does a drone light show cost?
A drone light show starts at 10,000 euros. The final cost depends on the number of drones, the duration of the choreography and the site’s airspace restrictions. We will provide you with a rough estimate once the venue has been assessed, before any detailed planning takes place.