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81-529: The Olympia ( French pronunciation: [ɔlɛ̃pja] ; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall ) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines , equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra Garnier , 300 metres (980 ft) north of Vendôme square . Its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine , Opéra , Havre–Caumartin , and Auber . The hall

162-478: A can-can dance performance of La Goulue . The Olympia's gala opening reception drew Paris' wealthiest, the aristocratic, and powerful people. Admission was restricted to a chosen few, the prince–princess, baron –baroness, and count . It also featured the Duke of Morny and figures from the sporting-club, Le Mirliton cabaret , and the jockey-club of the rue Royale . In a city that only had cafés-concerts ,

243-499: A 2,000-seat music hall with a grand re-opening organized by Lucienne Delyle and Aimé Barelli , who presented that evening a singer unknown at the time, Gilbert Bécaud , who sang three songs. During the summer of 1954, Coquatrix convinced Jean-Michel Boris , aged twenty-one, to join his new team as a machinist and electrician . In 1955, renowned jazz musicians as Billie Holiday , Sidney Bechet , Louis Armstrong , and Ella Fitzgerald were received every Wednesday and Saturday at

324-454: A ballet was staged at the Olympia, called Les Franfreluches de L'Amour . Léon Volterra was initially an employee at a car dealership and then joined Charles to began as a programs seller. Volterra negotiated to take charge of the program's sales of Olympia's first dance hall called Le Palais de la Danse , becoming increasingly wealthier. The Olympia closed its doors for a short period at

405-543: A brilliant school and college career the future duc de Morny received a commission in the army, and the next year he entered the staff college. The comte de Morny, as he was called by a polite fiction, served in Algeria in 1834–1835 (during the French conquest of Algeria ) as aide-de-camp to General Camille Alphonse Trezel , whose life he saved under the walls of Constantine . When Morny returned to Paris in 1838, he secured

486-422: A commercial lease agreement with Jeanne Haïk, owner of the Olympia and director of her late husband's businesses. The Olympia was in a "pitiful state" when Coquatrix took over as a manager and executive director. Nevertheless, he continued using it as a cinema and created operettas there in 1953. However, the downward trend of attendance signaled an impending bankruptcy. On 5 February 1954, Coquatrix revived it as

567-583: A lady who asked what he would do if the Chamber were "swept out." "Range myself on the side of the broom handle," was his answer. Presently he was admitted to the intimate circle of his half-brother Louis Napoleon, and he helped to engineer the coup d'état of 2 December 1851 on the morrow of which he was appointed to head the ministry of the interior . After six months in office, during which Morny showed his political opponents moderation and tact, he resigned his portfolio, ostensibly because he disapproved of

648-501: A limited number of restaged productions from Louis Ganne ensued at the Olympia, such as Au Japon in 1903, performed for the first time at London's Alhambra . Phryné was restaged in 1904, initially performed at the Folies Bergère and at Royan 's Casino. The revues at the Olympia were choreographed by prominent figures, as Alfredo Curti, exemplified by Olympia Revue in 1903 and Au Music-Hall in 1905. In 1905, Paul Ruez

729-482: A movie theater (cinema). On 11 April 1930, the venue reopened to the public, under the name "Olympia– Théâtre Jacques Haïk", followed by a screening of Clarence Brown 's silent film, The Trail of '98 . The theater explored the French cinema of the 1930s , celebrating filmmakers such as Jean Renoir , Maurice Tourneur , and Henry Wulschleger . However, the French Courvoisier bank went bankrupt due to

810-601: A ratio of three to one. Besides the major varieties of English — American , British , Canadian , Australian , Irish , New Zealand English —and their sub-varieties, countries such as South Africa , India , Nigeria , the Philippines , Singapore , Jamaica , and Trinidad and Tobago also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from English-based creole languages to Standard English . Other countries and territories, such as Ghana , also use English as their primary official language even though it

891-415: A registered trademark, although he was never the owner of the venue. Following his death, Paulette Coquatrix , and Patricia, their daughter, began to control at equal shares the business operations of the Olympia. That same year, Boris was named executive director of the Olympia. By 1990, Société Générale took ownership of the building of the Olympia. Subsequently, it went into another slow decline and

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972-504: A renovation to highlight the facade of the Olympia as a movie theater. Architects Fernand Colin, Ruillier, and Vladimir Scob, decided to demolish the facade from the ground floor level to the second floor on a height of twelve meters, then fitted the roof with a massive steel fairing inspired by the bow of a ship and the exterior entrance was redesigned. The facade was adorned with one thousand five hundred meters of neon lights and fifteen thousand lamps using two thousand amperes . The theater

1053-784: A solid position in the business world by establishing a major beet-sugar industry at Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne and by writing a pamphlet Sur la question des sucres in 1838. In these and other lucrative speculations he was helped by his mistress Françoise Mosselman , the beautiful and wealthy wife of the Belgian ambassador , Charles Aimé Joseph Le Hon, Comte Le Hon . Eventually there were few great commercial enterprises in Paris in which he did not have an interest. Although Morny sat as deputy for Clermont-Ferrand from 1842 onwards, he took at first no important part in party politics, but he

1134-604: Is also the primary native language and English is the primary language of government and education, such as Ireland , Gibraltar , and the Commonwealth Caribbean . While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as Denmark , the Netherlands , Norway and Sweden , these countries are not considered part of the English-speaking world as

1215-732: Is not the native language of most of the people. English holds official status in numerous countries within the Commonwealth of Nations . English is the primary natively spoken language in several countries and territories. Five of the largest of these are sometimes described as the " core Anglosphere "; they are the United Kingdom , the United States , Australia , Canada , and New Zealand . The term "Anglosphere" can sometimes be extended to include other countries and territories where English or an English Creole language

1296-525: Is so widely spoken, it has often been called a " world language ", the lingua franca of the modern era, and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language . It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical and maritime communications. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including

1377-1163: Is studied most often in the European Union , and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67% in favour of English, ahead of 17% for German and 16% for French (as of 2012 ). In some of the non–English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of adults claimed to be able to converse in English in 2012: 90% in the Netherlands; 89% in Malta; 86% in Sweden and Denmark; 73% in Cyprus, Croatia, and Austria; 70% in Finland; and over 50% in Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Germany. In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38% of Europeans consider that they can speak English. Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around

1458-586: The Société Foncière Lyonnaise , a subsidiary of Commercial Union , for an amount of 2,15   milliards of new francs . As a result, the Société Foncière Lyonnaise became the owner of the Olympia's building. The vast real estate transaction "almost signed the death warrant of the Olympia". On 17 July 2001, Boris retired as artistic director of the music hall. In August 2001, Paulette and Patrica Coquatrix sold

1539-479: The Archie Mayo film Crash Dive . Throughout the years, the theater hosted a series of films by Alfred Hitchcock and films from French producers such as Julien Duvivier and Claude Autant-Lara . By 1949, however, Olympia's occupancy rates marked a steady decline, due to the rivalry between Paris' movie theaters and the declining importance of films, despite the success of a few blockbusters, and even under

1620-518: The Casino de Paris and the Folies Bergère. As the bombs dropped from the Zeppelins intensified overnight, Paris shut down its activities, including the Olympia. In 1917, Volterra was fired, leaving the Olympia with a generated personal profit of 1   million de francs . In 1918, at the end of the war, comedian Paul Franck had been entrusted with the business operation of the music hall and

1701-525: The Champs-Élysées avenue. Subsequently, the responsibility for the business operation of the Olympia, in its configuration of a movie theater, moved away into a new commercial film company called Gaumont Franco-Film Aubert, then later Pathé , and was finally acquired by entrepreneur Léon Siritzky. On 9 February 1938, the restyled Olympia movie theater was inaugurated in a gala event with an exclusive screening of La Marseillaise by Renoir. In

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1782-656: The Deauville-La Touques Race Course near Deauville . The Prix Morny is named in his honour. He had married at Saint Petersburg on 7 January 1857, Princess Sofia Sergeyevna Trubetskaya (Moscow, 25 March 1836 – 8 August 1898), the only daughter of Prince Sergey Vasilyevich Trubetskoy (1814 – 12 May (30 April Old Style ), 1859) and his wife Ekaterina Petrovna Mussina-Pushkina (1 February 1816 – c.  1897 ). Their children included: He also had an illegitimate daughter by Fanny Mosselman , who

1863-883: The International Olympic Committee . It is also one of two co-official languages for astronauts (besides the Russian language) serving on board the International Space Station . The English language has a particular significance in the Commonwealth of Nations, which developed from the British Empire. English is the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations. The English language as used in the Commonwealth has sometimes been referred to as Commonwealth English , most often interchangeably with British English . English

1944-541: The Liberation of Paris , the American troops requisitioned the Olympia for two years. In 1945, at the end of the war, Haïk returned to Paris and battled to recuperate his companies, films, and movie theaters still spoliated by Germany. In January 1946, the Olympia was restituted to him after a judgment by the tribunal de commerce (commercial courts). On 24 July 1946, it was reopened for public screenings with

2025-533: The Lumière brothers were scheduled, which were new technologies at that time. In 1898, brothers Émile and Vincent Isola, two magicians who began a career as Paris' venue executive directors, became the commercial tenants of the Olympia, as well as of the most popular theaters in the city, such as the Folies Bergère in 1901 and the Gaîté-Lyrique in 1903. The Isola brothers brought attractions from all over

2106-613: The Montagnes Russes ' closure and ban. It was then demolished. In that year, supervised by Architect Léon Carle, a steel building foundation was constructed and erected in the same place. The interior fittings were conceived by decorators and painters Charles Toché , Marcel Jambon, and Etienne Cornellier. It contained panels in Sarreguemines ' faience , and the murals highlighted painting technique marouflage , illustrating English castles and landscapes , echoing

2187-548: The Société Générale . After that, politician Jacques Toubon had objected to the procedure, which canceled Olympia's protection. A contestation and continued support from French artists and Lang ensued to maintain the building's historic integrity, which led to Olympia's sustainability through a preservation order established on 7 January 1993. In 1995, as part of the real estate project initiated in 1993, which required 1   milliard of new francs of investment,

2268-467: The cafés-concerts in its large surface area divided into two themes, concert, and theater. To differentiate itself from the Folies Bergère , the Olympia imposed itself a different scheduling system by presenting its new ballet creations over a duration of weeks rather than months, alternating with the oldest ones revamped. The ballet blanc was the first Olympia's ballet. The venue demonstrated

2349-465: The third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed the Anglosphere . Speakers of English are called Anglophones . Early Medieval England was the birthplace of the English language; the modern form of the language has been spread around the world since

2430-454: The throne of Mexico , and that the French expedition sent to place Archduke Maximilian on the throne was prompted by Napoleon III's desire to thwart this ambition. In spite of occasional disagreements, Morny's influence with the emperor remained great, and the liberal policies which he advocated enabled him to serve the imperial cause through his influence with the leaders of the opposition,

2511-465: The "astronomical amount" of money that transited, which sparked an investigation by the Fisc . At this point, the Société Foncière Lyonnaise retained ownership of the building, but negotiations continued during August, as Vivendi attempted to acquire it. By October 2001, the buyout was completed. Vivendi Universal Entertainment bought the building, corresponding to the remaining twenty percent. Since then,

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2592-481: The 17th century, first by the worldwide influence of England and later the United Kingdom, and then by that of the United States . Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional fields, such as science , navigation and law . The United States and India have

2673-641: The Beaux-Arts, admired Morny's taste in pictures as well as the man himself. Charles de Morny was, he opined,"the most perfectly polite, the most elegant, the best bred man of his time". Morny played an important role in the development of the thoroughbred horse racing and breeding industry in France. In 1860, he purchased the English Triple Crown champion West Australian and brought him to France for breeding purposes. In 1862 Morny built

2754-539: The Edouard-VII area in the 9th arrondissement, where the Olympia was located, began to undergo "a radical" demolition and reconstruction. On 14 April 1997, a gala evening was broadcast live on television with reputed French singers, in honor of the Olympia and support of the following months of closure. In Spring 1997, the demolition of the Olympia began. The architecture firms Anthony-Emmanuel Bechu, and Fernando Urquijo–Gino Valle–Giorgio Macola were appointed to manage

2835-682: The English language globally has had a large impact on many other languages, leading to language shift and language death , and to claims of linguistic imperialism . English itself has become more open to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language as a whole. Charles de Morny, Duke of Morny Morny was born in Switzerland , and was the extra-marital son of Hortense de Beauharnais (the wife of Louis Bonaparte and queen of Holland ) and Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahaut , making him half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III and grandson of Talleyrand . His birth

2916-565: The London stage in 1909 and 1910, respectively, while Papillon d'Or was first performed at the Empire Theater with music composed by Leopold Wenzel . In 1911, Cottens and H. B. Marinelli left their responsibilities which concluded fourteen ballets staged since the arrival of Ruez. That year, Nitokris was the last pantomime-ballet staged at the Olympia . In 1911, Jacques Charles was trained by both brothers and worked his way up through

2997-489: The Olympia becoming a direct rival to the Opéra Garnier, notably with ballets as Charles Lecocq 's Barbe-bleue and Henri Hirschmann 's Néron in 1898, and Paul Vidal 's L'Impératrice in 1901. Despite the success of the ballets attested by La Belle Aux Cheveux d'Or and Sardanapale , the preferences of Émile and Vincent Isola settled firmly towards operettas, especially revues . Of the few ballets appearances,

3078-403: The Olympia with its spacious hall attracted all Parisians enjoying ventriloquists , juggler acts, and numerous ballets and revues . The music hall staged operettas and also pantomimes . Loie Fuller , La Goulue, Leopoldo Fregoli , Dranem , Ouvrard, and Mistinguett were regularly billed at the venue. The Olympia was a "first-class theater", although it retained the colloquial atmosphere of

3159-518: The Olympia, and became the new executive director, then transformed it into a temple of the revue, entering the "most luxurious period of the place". From 1911 to 1913, three revues included choreographic segments by Léo Staats , which featured dance performances of Natalia Trouhanowa and Stacia Napierkowska . By 1912, the Olympia presented a number of American music hall performers, and also French singers such as Lucienne Boyer , Mistinguett, Damia , Fréhel , Georgius , and Yvonne Printemps . In 1913,

3240-442: The Olympia, comparatively to two hundred when he arrived in 2002. By 2015, the venue, which was considered profitable, drew 700,000 attendees per year. In 2016, Simon Gillham , chairman of Vivendi Village, became president of the Olympia. On 30 November 2016, Olympia was used for movie projection again, with the premiere of the biopic Dalida . The screening was significant in France and was broadcast live in 220 other venues from

3321-530: The Olympia, representing a visual history of the world from the Passion of Christ to the French Revolution , until the modernity of that time. However, in 1896, Oller found no more challenge in his multiple projects, and boredom took over. He named chief conductor Oscar de Lagoanaire as director of the music hall, which became a business failure. That same year, the screenings of the first films of

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3402-402: The Olympia. Bécaud returned at the Olympia, where he caused the first scenes of "collective hysteria". By then, the music hall mixed musical genres where tradition and innovation converged. A single music hall show encompassed, attractions, beginner singers, confirmed singers, and highest-ranked entertainers. Coquatrix partnered with Lucien Morisse and Eddie Barclay to hold regular auditions in

3483-593: The beginning of the First World War , while Oller, still the commercial property landlord , struggled financially due to late rent payments and non-payments. Volterra partnered with Olympia chief conductor Raphael Beretta to manage stage shows, giving money to Oller, who "expressly agreed-upon" and Charles' tenant agency, then reopened the music hall one month after the First Battle of the Marne . By then,

3564-583: The bill for three months in a row—including some offered for free to Coquatrix—accompanied with live shows by Tati provided at the entrance of the venue and on stage. In 1972, Alan Stivell popularized the style of Celtic music in France by playing at the Olympia, paving the way for Glenmor , Dan Ar Braz , and Tri Yann . The venue also initiated the first steps of Francis Cabrel , Alain Souchon , Paul Anka , and Louis Chedid . On 1 April 1979, Coquatrix died, and consequently "Olympia–Bruno Coquatrix" became

3645-407: The brand "Olympia" to Vivendi 's chief executive Jean-Marie Messier . With the tensions tearing the heirs apart, Messier also bought the fonds de commerce ( goodwill and stock in trade and intangible assets ) from its owner, the Société Générale , as well as the percentage from Paulette Coquatrix and her daughter (both were fonds de commerce ' s tenants). Messier was the sole initiator of

3726-505: The business unit Vivendi Village has been the sole owner and supervise the commercial operations of the Olympia. In 2002, Arnaud Delbarre was named as executive director of the Olympia by Universal Music France's Président-directeur général , Pascal Nègre. In 2008, the Olympia was cited as "one of the world's four or five most modern performance halls." In late June 2015, Delbarre, aged fifty-seven years, resigned from office, concluding with an activity of three hundred shows per year at

3807-448: The ceilings and wall decorations in accordance with Farge. The theater featured quality acoustic , indirect lighting , and Gallay brand velvet armchairs mingling dark green and light green. A Cavaillé-Coll organ was placed there. The Olympia–Théâtre Jacques Haïk was equipped with a modern sound installation for that time, which Western Electric installed, and the air conditioning was assigned to Willis Carrier . Siritzky undertook

3888-682: The confiscation of the Bourbon-Orléans property but really because Napoleon, influenced by Morny's rivals, resented his claim to a foremost place in the government as a member of the House of Bonaparte . He then resumed his financial speculations. When in 1854 the Emperor appointed him president of the Corps Législatif , a position which he filled for the rest of his life, he used his official rank to assist his schemes. In 1856, Morny

3969-589: The consequences of the global economic and financial crisis of the Great Depression , which forced Olympia into bankruptcy. Born in Tunisia , Jacques Haïk was the Importer and distributor of Charlie Chaplin 's films in France and the inventor of his nickname, " Charlot ", in the country. While the crisis steadily deepened in France, Haïk purchased the Olympia and completely transformed the place into

4050-645: The country and Belgium . Haïk engaged three architects for a significant renovation and remodeling of the music hall into a movie theater. Paul Farge was responsible for coordinating and monitoring works, while Gabriel Morice supervised the work of the structural system within the building. In coordination with Farge, Jean-Paul Mongeaud was responsible for designing and constructing the new neon lights facade displayed twelve meters high and eight meters wide. The neon tubes whose curves were drawn by Mongeaud were elaborated and created by engineer Fonsèque from Paz and Silva company. The two neon side panels, integrating over

4131-638: The courtyard on 28 Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, near the Opéra Garnier , at the time of Baron Haussmann 's urban renovation . Named the Montagnes Russes , it would be considered one of the first wider amusement parks in history. In 1889, Oller and Zidler co-founded the Moulin Rouge in Pigalle . In 1892, the Prefect of Police feared a conflagration and ordered

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4212-405: The dominance of the striptease pantomime Le Coucher de la Mariée , which became the "longest-running and most profitable show in the 1890s". Along with the Folies Bergère, the Olympia scheduled appearances by some "stars" such as La Belle Otero , Émilienne d'Alençon , and Liane de Pougy . In 1895, Oller, overflowing with activities, opened a museum of wax 's mannequins in the basements of

4293-453: The dominant popular style. The Baccarat crystal glass company created the girandoles and chandeliers , while the electrical installation work was carried out by the company Eclairage Electrique . Oller's primary intention was to propose a defining location of luxury and glamor in Paris. On 12 April 1893, the 2,000 capacity venue named L'Olympia was inaugurated as the first Parisian music hall , featuring acrobats , cross-dressers , and

4374-429: The early 1990s, but saved by a preservation order. Inevitably included in a group of buildings that were part of an extensive renovation project, the entire edifice was demolished and rebuilt in 1997. The venue's facade and its interior were preserved. Vivendi acquired the Olympia in 2001 and it remains a popular venue. The venue is easily recognized by the giant white-on-red glowing letters announcing its name. In 1880,

4455-407: The entrepreneur Joseph Oller purchased grounds and converted them into a horse racing venue. In 1882, he created innovative mechanisms to interact the exit of the horses with the distribution of tickets. In 1888, with the money earned from these investments, he imported a wooden roller coaster from England. In the same year, Oller collaborated with Charles Zidler to build the roller coaster in

4536-566: The facade's entire height, were also created by Paz and Silva. The facade, illuminated in red, blue, and green encompassing four hundred meters of neon tubes, was the most significant illuminated sign in Europe and a reference for that time. A blacksmith artisan created the ornamental steel structure of the facade. Pelegry and Lavignac, responsible for the interior decorations of the Plaza Athénée and Théâtre des Folies-Wagram , designed

4617-776: The financial crisis. In 1931, Haïk lost all of his real estate companies but returned to film production, built several theaters starting in 1934, and regained a healthy financial situation over the years. On 6 December 1935, the Olympia Théâtre Jacques Haïk was selected by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during The Great MGM Season—to the detriment of the theater Madeleine—to broadcast a substantial number of film series ending after France's release of Robert Z. Leonard 's The Great Ziegfeld in September 1936. Then, MGM moved to Le Paris movie theater on

4698-536: The language is still viewed primarily as a foreign tongue and does not serve an important cultural role in society. English is an official language ( de facto or de jure ) of the following countries and territories. Although not official, English is also an important language in some former colonies and protectorates of the British Empire where it is used as an administrative language , namely Brunei , Malaysia , and Sri Lanka . Because English

4779-418: The most conspicuous of whom, Émile Ollivier , was detached from his colleagues by Morny's efforts. But while he was laying the foundations of the "Liberal Empire" his health deteriorated and was further injured by quack medicines . The emperor and the empress visited him just before his death in Paris on 10 March 1865. Morny's valuable collection of pictures, including Jean-Honoré Fragonard 's The Swing ,

4860-496: The most total English speakers, with 306 million and 129 million, respectively. These are followed by Pakistan (104 million), the United Kingdom (68 million), and Nigeria (60 million). As of 2022, there were about 400 million native speakers of English. Including people who speak English as a second language , estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary from 1.5 billion to 2 billion. David Crystal calculated in 2003 that non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by

4941-429: The original billiard room (emptied of its billiard tables ), scrolling through fifteen to fifty unknown artists whose careers "were played out in thirty seconds". In 1959, Boris was appointed artistic director of the Olympia. In 1961, the Olympia was close to filing for bankruptcy, but Piaf came to help Coquatrix with the assistance of actor Jacques Tati . The music hall was saved by the performance of Piaf heading

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5022-418: The reconstruction project. It was rebuilt identically in seven months, keeping its original facade and the grandeur of its famous red interior, as well as the bar and the mosaics . The Olympia was relocated eight meters beneath its previous location. Nevertheless, the entrance to the venue remained in the same place, leading to the hall, which has retained its same seating capacity. The venue's original acoustic

5103-410: The revue became the preferred theatrical production choice, and ballet waned in popularity. In 1914, Charles left the Olympia and went to war; he was then wounded on the front lines of the First Battle of Champagne . In 1915, Volterra and Beretta purchased the Olympia with their financial gains , highlighting chansons with performers such as Boyer, Damia, and Fréhel. The following year, both bought

5184-629: The seven hundred and thirty-six closed were included in the Aryanization process, along with those of Siritzky. Siritzky, who also controlled the business operations of movie theaters such as the Marivaux, Max Linder César, and Moulin Rouge , received an invitation to tender from Société des cinémas de l'Est (SOGEC), led by German film producer and Continental Films executive director, Alfred Greven . The Société des cinémas de l'Est acquired

5265-535: The summer of 1940, the Nazis invaded French towns, villages, and Paris , followed by the plundering of cultural heritage , especially the French of Jewish faith . Being Jewish, Haïk left Paris for North Africa while the Nazis confiscated his property, films and took control of his company Les Films Régent that he had created in 1934. In mid-October 1940, four hundred and seventeen movie theaters were open in Paris, while

5346-432: The supervision of the executive administrator Pierre Vercel. Haïk died in 1950. At that time, Bruno Coquatrix was executive director at Comédie-Caumartin and endured artistic and commercial failures there. He was the impresario of Édith Piaf in the 1940s and was also a songwriter, conductor, and jazz saxophonist. He was also known to be the agent of Léo Marjane and Lucienne Boyer. In 1952, Coquatrix signed

5427-472: The taste of Coquatrix. The octagon shape of the "O" was inspired by the aerial view of the Paris' ring road . English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language by number of speakers ,

5508-606: The totality of Siritzky's business, including the Olympia. Sorbonne 's professor Andre Kaspi wrote that Siritzky left France for the United States after the transaction, from which he pocketed 18   millions de francs . The Olympia movie theater continued its activity during the occupation of France and broadcast German films by Tobis , Continental Films, as well as French production films by Henri Decoin , Robert Vernay , and Christian-Jaque . The venue also provided shelter for German soldiers . In mid-August 1944, at

5589-519: The world to Olympia, playing host to multiple entertainment types, and increased the proportion and the spectacular. There were extravagant circus -themed parties with clowns, Contortionists , and the inclusion of exotic singing and dancing. The venue also featured acrobatic performances and wild animals such as seals , monkeys, elephants, and zebras. Furthermore, the French author Colette mimed entirely naked. Ballets, pantomimes, and operettas became more prominent with larger productions, which led to

5670-462: The world; English is the most commonly used language in the sciences, with Science Citation Index reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. In publishing, English literature predominates considerably, with 28% of all books published in the world [Leclerc 2011] and 30% of web content in 2011 (down from 50% in 2000). The increasing use of

5751-423: Was appointed executive director. In 1922, Olympia's founder Oller died a rich man. Franck revealed new talents, such as Marie Dubas , and brought back on stage artists from the early century that people wished to see again. In 1928, Franck left the music hall, which marked the end of the "golden era". By 1929, the music hall had turned into a stagnant concept, while sound film began its ascent in France. Then came

5832-531: Was appointed manager for the venue. Two ballet productions, Les Saisons de la Parisienne and Vers Les Etoiles were created in 1905 and 1906 respectively. Although spectacular, it had only lesser pantomime-ballet influences and received mixed reviews. In 1908, Victor de Cottens and H. B. Marinelli took over as the directors of the music hall. In 1908, Trianon Ballet , and in 1909, Les Aventures de Mlle Clo-Clo , were ballets about flirting. Choreographed by Curti, Paquita , and L'Enlèvement de Psyché debuted on

5913-415: Was described as "sumptuous" with "modern-harmonious lines" benefiting from intense electric lighting. Coquatrix had decided to have the exterior facade of the venue redone, thus making it possible to announce the names of the artists in capital letters updated every day below the signage of the Olympia. The lettering "Olympia" and the artists' names illuminated in red neon lighting, were designed according to

5994-549: Was duly registered in a misleading certificate, which made him the legitimate son of Auguste Jean Hyacinthe Demorny, and born in Paris on 23 October 1811, and described as a landowner of Saint-Domingue . M. Demorny was in fact an officer in the Prussian army and a native of the French colony of St. Domingue (now Haiti ), though he owned no land there or elsewhere. Morny was educated by his grandmother, Adelaïde Filleul . After

6075-587: Was heard with respect on industrial and financial questions. He supported the government of Louis Philippe , because revolution threatened his commercial interests, but before the Revolutions of 1848 , by which he was temporarily ruined, he considered converting to the Bourbon legitimist cause represented by the Comte de Chambord . His attitude was expressed by the witticism with which he is said to have replied to

6156-421: Was in danger of being torn down and turned into a parking lot. Another project was also mentioned to rebuild a scaled-down version of the Olympia after demolition, but Boris, who was at the head of a support committee, went to negotiate with the Société Générale ' s CEO. In 1991, France's then culture minister , Jack Lang , issued a preservation order for the Olympia to interrupt the pre-established plan of

6237-424: Was opened in 1893 by one of the two co-creators of the Moulin Rouge venue, and saw many opera, ballet, and music hall performances. Theatrical performances declined in the late 1920s and the Olympia was converted into a cinema, before re-opening as a venue in 1954 with Bruno Coquatrix as executive director. Since the 1960s, it has been a popular venue for rock bands. The Olympia was threatened with demolition in

6318-401: Was referred by Balzac . De Morny was influential in the early career of Sarah Bernhardt , who played for Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo . In her autobiography, My Double Life , Bernhardt recounts that at a family conference which de Morny attended as a family friend, the purpose of which was to determine what Bernhardt was to do with her future life, de Morny suggested that she be sent to

6399-407: Was sent as special envoy to the coronation of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and brought home a wife, Princess Sophie Troubetzkoi , who through her connections greatly strengthened his social position. Sophie was legally daughter of Prince Sergey Vasilyevich Trubetskoy, but may have been the illegitimate daughter of Nicholas I of Russia . In 1862, Morny was created a Duke. It is said that he aspired to

6480-458: Was sold after his death. In spite of his undoubted wit and social gifts, Morny failed to secure the distinction he desired as a dramatist, and none of his pieces, which appeared under the pseudonym of M. de St Rémy, including Sur la grande route , M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . . , and the Les finesses du mari , among others, met with success on the stage. M. de Chenneviėres, the director of

6561-518: Was studied and preserved, as its aesthetics including its midnight blue ceiling and black walls. The cost of demolition, reconstruction and renovation of the Olympia was 100 millions of new francs. On 30 April 1999, the real estate subsidiary of the Société Générale at the origin of the project, delivered the large commercial properties (including the Théâtre Édouard VII ) to its buyer,

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