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Friday, 04 November 2016 16:01

Paris' Bataclan to reopen day before attack anniversary with Sting gig

Written by Touwensa.com
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The theater has undergone renovations since the attacks and last week unveiled its new facacde and logo


The Bataclan concert hall in Paris, where 90 people were killed in last year's jihadist attacks on the French capital, will re-open November 12 with a concert by British rocker Sting a day before the one-year anniversary of the tragedy.

The Bataclan was one of several Paris locations targeted on the night of November 13, 2015 when Islamic State gunmen suicide bombers also attacked bars, restaurants and the national stadium, killing a total of 130 people.

Sting, the former frontman of The Police confirmed the announcement by Lagardere Unlimited Live Entertainment, saying in a statement on his website:

"In re-opening the Bataclan, we have two important tasks to reconcile. First, to remember and honor those who lost their lives in the attack a year ago, and second to celebrate the life and the music that this historic theater represents."

"In doing so we hope to respect the memory as well as the life affirming spirit of those who fell. We shall not forget them," the statement added.

All revenues from the show will be donated to two charities working with victims of the Paris attacks, the statement added.
A commemoration ceremony will be held on the one-year anniversary of the attacks, November 13, and will be attended by victims' families the mayor's office said.

The Bataclan has undergone several months of renovations since the attacks and last week unveiled its new facade and red-lettered logo.

"It is quite something to everyday see the Bataclan closed and under reconstruction. And now...there is a renewal, that they are changing their logo, that shows that we are not holding on," 19-year-old Eli Hodara, who lives near the theater, told the Associated Press.

"Of course [the attacks] should not be forgotten, but we should continue to live...and we should continue to use this hall for shows, concerts," she added.
Survivors of the carnage at the Bataclan returned to the site last week where a trio of jihadists brandishing Kalashnikovs burst into a concert by Californian group the Eagles of Death Metal slaying dozens of concertgoers.

"When I left the Bataclan, I imagined it as a bloodthirsty monster which wanted to consume me," said Caroline Langlade, of the victims' association Life for Paris.

"In fact it's just a room with walls where something tragic happened. It's not the building itself which is tragic," she said.

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