Local authorities
Celesta, service provider for your heritage festivals
Whether it’s a town festival, a monument’s centenary, a historical celebration or Heritage Days: Celesta writes and produces a show that tells the story of your local community, set against the very buildings that embody it.
- Free quote
- Registered F4-T2 pyrotechnicians and drone pilots
- Prefecture application processed
- France and abroad
The only show that speaks from your local authority, and from it alone
Bastille Day or New Year’s Eve are celebrated everywhere on the same evening. A heritage festival, however, is not: it celebrates a date that belongs only to you. The 800th anniversary of a charter, the centenary of a bridge, the parish fair named after a local saint, or the reopening of a collegiate church following restoration.
Celesta is a provider of heritage-themed shows for local authorities: the company writes, produces and oversees the creative process, from researching your archives right through to obtaining authorisation from the prefecture. Video mapping on building façades, fireworks displays, light drones and stage effects become the tools of a narrative, rather than simply a list of services.
This is the fundamental difference compared with other events in the municipal calendar: here, the content cannot simply be copied from one local authority to another. It is shaped by your own history, and it belongs to you.
In the field
Our heritage festivals recent
Three works written for a city, its history and its architecture.
Three opportunities, the same local story
Local authorities approach us for three very distinct reasons. These do not require the same budget, the same timetable or the same amount of background research, but they do share one requirement: the production must convey something true about the local area.
Every year, at the same time
The town festival, the one everyone’s been waiting for
The parish fair, St John’s Day, the grape harvest festival, the village fair: these are the events the locals know inside out, and they compare each one to the last. The challenge isn’t to make it look good; it’s to make it different without compromising what people have come to expect.
Our approach is to retain the familiar format whilst changing the narrative: the same time, the same venue, but a new story every year. In Marly-le-Roi, the show combined a drone ballet with a fireworks display, all woven into a single narrative thread, from Earth to the Moon.
- Annual event
- Known gauge
- A new take on the story
- Budget carried over
Once in a generation
The town’s anniversary
One hundred and twenty-five years, eight hundred years since the charter was drawn up, the centenary of a bridge or a belfry: the number becomes the focus of the show. It is this occasion that justifies the most ambitious production, because it will never happen again.
It is also the one that requires the most preparatory research, and the one where video mapping really comes into its own: the town hall façade becomes the canvas on which the story unfolds.
- Archival research
- Original creation
- Reusable content
In September, or summer
Heritage Days and Historical Festival
Medieval festivals, historical re-enactments, and the European Heritage Days evening events: the public comes for the monument itself. The spectacle need not take centre stage; rather, it should serve to highlight the building and extend the visit after dark.
Short, repeated screenings work best: a ten-minute film shown three times throughout the evening keeps the audience moving rather than keeping them stationary for a single screening.
- Nocturne
- Short format, re-run
- The featured monument
Five languages at your service of your assets
Video mapping
The monument becomes the screen
Video mapping: the natural language of heritage
It is the only language that speaks directly of the building: the geometry of the façade, surveyed by laser, becomes the grid upon which the narrative is written. A cornice is highlighted, a window opens, a date is inscribed on the stone. Nothing is fixed, nothing is touched.
The film produced remains your property and can be replayed in subsequent seasons.
Fireworks displays
The climax
Fire, silhouette and backlighting
At a heritage site, the fireworks are set off not above the building but behind it: the façade is silhouetted against the fireworks. This design choice protects the building and creates the most striking image of the evening.
Products in category F4 – Decree No. 2010-455 of 4 May 2010, implemented by an operator holding an F4-T2 certificate.
Light drones
Writing in the sky
Drones: when the historic centre bans open fires
Many heritage sites are hemmed in by narrow streets where it is impossible to maintain the safety perimeter required for a fireworks display. The firework display solves the problem: with no explosion and no fallout, it can trace the town’s coat of arms, a founding date or the outline of a lost monument.
Registered drone pilots; flight clearance applications processed by the DGAC.
Performers and effects
On the ground, in contact with
Performers, cold flames and a procession
A historical festival is experienced amongst the crowd, not just from above. Illuminated stilt-walkers, torchbearers, processions through the streets, cold flames in front of a doorway: these elements take place just a few metres away and do not require any exclusion zones.
They act as a link between the venues when the festival takes place at several locations across the town, guiding the audience from one stage to the next.
The hybrid format
A single story
Mapping, drones and fireworks all in one evening
This is the form that best does justice to a long story: the light show projects the narrative onto the façade, the drones carry it into the sky, and the fire brings it to a close. Each form of expression finds its place where it is most effective, and the evening takes on a sense of progression that the fire alone can no longer provide.
Bringing these disciplines together in a single production requires mastery of all three. This is the case at Celesta, and it is what avoids having to coordinate three service providers who do not share the same timecode or the same production control room.
What the monument dominates the show
A striking building is both a free backdrop and a constant constraint. Three rules determine the format long before the writing begins, and it is better to establish them at the first meeting than when submitting the application.
The opinion of Bâtiments de France
As soon as a building is listed, registered or simply situated within a protected area, the Architecte des Bâtiments de France becomes involved. Their assessment focuses on the positioning of the equipment, the light output and the nature of the effects, not on the artistic content. Anticipating this avoids the one thing a local authority cannot rectify: a refusal three weeks before the event.
A frame to which nothing is attached
No anchoring, no drilling, no load on the stone. Everything is placed on the ground, in self-supporting, ballasted structures, and the necessary projection distance is measured before any commitments are made. In a narrow space, it is this distance that determines the number of projectors and therefore a large part of the budget.
A nearby gauge, in an old town centre
Unlike on 14 July, when the public spreads out along the riverbanks or in a park, a heritage festival brings people together on a forecourt, just a few dozen metres from the buildings and homes. This calls for smaller-scale displays, drones or video mapping, and means that noise levels and crowd control must be taken into account right from the planning stage.
The show is taking shape in your archives
This is the part of the work that nobody ever sees, and it’s what makes the difference between a spectacular show and your local council’s production. Before the very first scene, our teams consult the municipal archives, the local historical society and the department’s image archives.
We look for three things: a date that frames the narrative, two or three striking images that local people will recognise, and a detail that almost nobody knows about. It is this last element that provokes a reaction from the audience, far more so than any technical effect.
This approach adds two to three months to the timeline compared with a traditional shoot. In return, it produces content that you own, which you can replay, extend or reuse in your communications materials.
From the archives at the final round of applause
The process of staging a heritage show is similar to that of any other production, with one extra step at the start and an additional administrative requirement at the end. It is these two factors that explain why the process takes ten to twelve months, rather than six.
01
Research
Municipal archives, historical society, pictorial collections.
02
Writing
The script, soundtrack and storyboard are hereby submitted to you.
03
The statement
The façade has been measured using a laser, and the projection setback has been approved.
04
Authorisations
Prefecture, Bâtiments de France, overflight permissions.
05
That very evening
Set-up, securing the set to the façade, rehearsals, production control, dismantling.
Method
A single point of contact, from the archives to production control
A heritage festival brings together a researcher, an author, a videographer, a pyrotechnician and a drone pilot, often on the same evening and at the same listed site. At Celesta, these roles are all in-house. A single point of contact oversees the creative, technical and safety aspects, which simplifies communication with your departments as well as with Bâtiments de France.
- Small, medium and large local authorities
- Measures that can be scaled up or down in line with the approved budget
- Original content, owned by the local authority
Why local authorities place their trust in us their heritage
01
A company with extensive experience in protected areas
Castles, town halls, collegiate churches, listed buildings: our teams regularly work on remarkable historic buildings, with all the constraints that entails. Celesta’s ICPE-licensed storage facility provides a rare degree of logistical autonomy, from the transport of materials right through to their installation, and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, from the application for authorisation to adherence to the parameters agreed with the prefecture and civil protection services. Based in Aigremont, in the Yvelines, and with a presence in Normandy, the company operates both in France and internationally.
02
Content that remains with the local authority
The projection mapping film, the soundtrack and the narrative produced for your event are yours to keep. You can replay them the following season, extend them with a new sequence, or use extracts from them for your promotional materials and social media. This is what distinguishes a heritage show from a fireworks display in economic terms: the first year involves the creative process, whilst subsequent years involve only the execution.
Compliance and implementation
- ICPE-licensed storage facility
- F4-T2 Pyrotechnicians
- DGAC-compliant drones
- Compliance with prefectural regulations
- Aigremont and Normandy
Market indicators
Budget and timetable for a show heritage
A heritage show costs more than a fire display of the same scale, because it involves an element of original creativity. Here are the typical price ranges observed in the French market, the factors that cause them to vary, and how Celesta adapts to them.
10 à 12
Months before the date: Research in the archives and the opinion of Bâtiments de France add two to three months to the timeframe for a standard planning application.
01
What affects the price
When it comes to a heritage light show, the key factor is not the number of lights but the area to be covered and the viewing distance. A sixty-metre-long façade viewed from a narrow square requires more spotlights than a façade half that size viewed from a distance. Next come the film’s duration, the level of animation and the number of evenings.
Area and setback take precedence over quantity
02
Who provides the funding?
Cultural heritage offers opportunities that other festivals do not. Depending on the circumstances, the organisation may involve the local council, the inter-municipal authority, the county council, the regional authority (in the context of heritage promotion), the DRAC, the tourist office, and sometimes local sponsors. Bringing all these parties on board takes time, which is another argument in favour of early planning.
Dedicated heritage ticket offices
03
Spread the cost over several seasons
Unlike a fireworks display, which is over in a single evening, a video mapping show is an asset. Once created, it can be replayed in subsequent years at little more than the cost of staging it, and a new sequence can be added with each new edition. Over three years, the cost difference compared with an annual fireworks display is largely eliminated.
The film remains your property
Figures representing the general price ranges observed on the French market, provided for reference purposes only and not as a Celesta price list.
The price depends on
- The façade area
- The available headroom
- The running time of the film
- The number of evenings
- The research component
Tell the story of your local area with Celesta
Town festivals, anniversaries, Heritage Nights: tell us about your venue, your date and your budget, and our teams will provide you with a proposal and a tailored quote. For heritage projects, it’s best to start planning a year in advance.
- Free quote
- Quick reply
- Support from start to finish
Questions frequent
What budget should you set aside for a heritage festival show?
You should expect to pay between 2,500 and 5,000 euros in a municipality with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, between 5,000 and 20,000 euros for a medium-sized town or an inter-municipal authority, and between 20,000 and 50,000 euros for a large city. A heritage-themed show costs more than a fire display of the same scale because it involves a significant amount of scriptwriting and research. On the other hand, the film produced can be replayed in subsequent seasons at no cost other than the initial production costs.
Is it permitted to project an image onto a listed monument?
Yes, and it is in fact the most suitable method. The projection does not affect the building structure: no anchoring, no drilling, and no load on the stone. All the equipment is placed on the ground on self-supporting, weighted structures. However, approval must be obtained from the Architecte des Bâtiments de France regarding the installation, the light output and the nature of the effects, as well as authorisation from the owner or the person responsible for the monument.
Is approval from Bâtiments de France required?
As soon as a building is listed, registered or simply situated within a conservation area, the opinion of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France is required. This concerns the positioning of the equipment and the lighting design, not the artistic content. Our teams prepare the application and submit it to your department; this is the first step to take, as it is the only one that a local authority cannot rectify three weeks before the deadline.
Is it allowed to set off a fireworks display near a historic building?
Yes, subject to safety distances based on the calibre of the projectiles and the approval of the relevant authorities. Our recommended approach at a heritage site is to set off fireworks behind the building rather than above it: this allows the façade to stand out in silhouette against the fireworks, creating a more striking image whilst better protecting the building. In a historic town centre where the buildings are too close together, a drone light show takes over, with no explosions or fallout.
Can the show be performed again next year?
Yes. The projection mapping film, the soundtrack and the narrative are yours to keep. They can be replayed as they are, enhanced with a new sequence, or used in excerpts in your marketing materials. This is the key financial difference compared with a fireworks display: the first production involves the creative work, whilst subsequent ones involve only the technical execution.
How long does it take to put on a heritage show?
Allow ten to twelve months, compared with three to six for a conventional fire. There are two stages that account for this difference: documentary research in the municipal archives and local collections, which takes two to three months, and the processing of the opinion from Bâtiments de France. A project launched in the spring for a late-summer festival the following year proceeds smoothly.
Who is responsible for authorisations?
Celesta’s teams prepare the full set of regulatory documentation and submit it: a prefecture declaration of a pyrotechnic show, safety perimeter plans, approval from Bâtiments de France, and overflight authorisations from the DGAC for drones. Your departments are kept informed at every stage and receive the documents to be attached to the local by-law.