Port Grimaud twinned with Venice

Port Grimaud twinned with Venice :

       This event, conceived by François Spoerry and organised by his colleagues as part of the promotion of the lakeside town, took place on 3 July 1970.
           This majestic celebration was reserved for the new owners of Port Grimaud, with security guards screening participants, who had to have an invitation card...
           True or false twinning?... In truth, this event never led to anything: there has been no further contact between the two towns... It remains above all a clever publicity stunt that gave Port Grimaud its status as the ‘Little Venice of Provence’...

Twinning :

       The church was not yet finished, but that did not stop people from singing, laughing and dancing to celebrate the event at the foot of the building site, in front of the brand new community centre...

       A stage had been set up so that Michel Polnareff, a popular singer at the time, could give a concert...

       For the occasion, authentic gondolas were brought in from Venice. The residents of Port Grimaud all dressed up, led by François SPOERRY, to make this Venetian festival a resounding success...
       As a guest of honour, a representative of the City of the Doges in ceremonial dress made the twinning official...

Gondolas in PORT GRIMAUD :

       A parade of boats decorated with ribbons and flowers set off from the harbour master's office at 9 p.m.

       Leading the way was a gondola carrying Guido de Bonis and the famous Kiki CARON.

       Upon its arrival at the church square, a hundred pigeons flew away...

       Opposite, Guido de Bonis and Kiki CARON in a gondola on the canals.

For the occasion, a song performed by Isabelle De Funes (Louis de Funes' niece) was heard for the first time,
celebrating the new lakeside town: The song is called ‘PORT GRIMAUD’.

Discover this video on YouTube...

More fear than harm :

       A horse-drawn carriage was to be made available to guests at the entrance to the city so that they could reach the party...
       But a last-minute setback occurred: despite its desperate efforts, the horse was unable to climb the steep bridge leading to the market square:
       Worse still, Béatrice and Eddie Barclay had taken their seats when the harness broke and the carriage rolled back down the hill, fortunately without serious consequences.
       The guests had to continue on foot !...

Auction :

       After the celebrations on the water, the ceremonies continued in the hall of the brand new Town Hall.

       Mr SPOERRY presented Mr SCARPA, Director of Venetian Tourism, and Mr GIRAUD, Mayor of Grimaud, with a medal commemorating the twinning.

       A painting by Guido de Bonis depicting the port was auctioned off to raise funds for the restoration of works of art in Venice. The painting was purchased by François Spoerry himself for 8,000 francs.

As in Venice :

PORT GRIMAUD, on that day, really looked like Venice...