Backstage — The 2025 Marseille Christmas show by ARTEVENTIA

For Noël Marseillais 2025, ARTEVENTIA and Magic Drone return to Marseille’s Vieux-Port with an original creation combining pyrotechnics and Sky Choreography technology (light and pyrotechnic drones), making it one of the highlights of the city’s end-of-year festivities.

A festive creation in the heart of Marseille

For several years now, Le Noël Marseillais has been one of the most eagerly awaited events of the winter season, transforming the city center into a lively stage of lights, entertainment and shows. In 2025, ARTEVENTIA returns to the Vieux-Port, Marseilles’ emblematic gathering place, to stage its nocturnal creations in a place steeped in history and symbolism.

The staging proposed for this edition fully exploits the possibilities offered by current technologies:

• Sky Choreography, light drones programmed to draw shapes and aerial sequences synchronized to sound,

• Pyrotechnic effects, judiciously integrated into the night space.

This multi-technique approach offers an all-encompassing sensory experience: not just a visual spectacle, but an aerial choreography that appeals to all audiences around the Old Port.

Artistic writing in the service of emotion

Behind the technical implementation lies a clear creative approach. The artistic direction intended this show to be an immersive celebration, in which the dynamics of the drones and the materiality of the fire respond to one another to evoke the spirit of Christmas in the Mediterranean: one of light, human warmth, and hope.

On a narrative level, the show does not simply follow a succession of effects: each sequence is designed as an emotional progression, structured around changes in rhythm, light palettes, and movements synchronized with a musical composition chosen to accompany the collective celebration.

It’s also a tribute to the crown of Notre Dame de la Garde, freshly restored and magnified by a set of drones flying above it.

Ambitious preparation and coordination

Leading up to the show, several specialized teams collaborated to fulfill this large-scale commission:

• Magic Drone’s specialized pilots for Aerial drones, to ensure smooth, precise aerial choreography

• ARTEVENTIA’s certified pyrotechnicians, to orchestrate pyrotechnic effects adapted to an open urban area

• Dushow’s sound engineers, to harmonize the visual and acoustic dimensions of the work

• Our team’s and the city’s stage managers and coordinators, to ensure smooth installation, testing and final set-up.

The coordination of the various elements (drones, pyrotechnics, musical timings) requires meticulous synchronization, captured in complex temporal matrices, so that every visual movement is in harmony with the whole.

Public reaction and reception

The show, which is one of the highlights of Marseille’s festivities during the end-of-year holidays, attracted a large audience, gathered around the Vieux-Port in a friendly and shared atmosphere. Beyond the visual dimension, this type of creation strengthens the collective identity of the event: a celebration that speaks as much to the emotions as to the visual memory of the spectators.

This 2025 edition of Marseille Christmas stands as a major milestone in the evolution of urban nocturnal performances. The alliance between drones, fire, and light, conceived and mastered by ARTEVENTIA and its partners, highlights the company’s ability to combine technological innovation, artistic sensitivity, and collective experience.

Video Aftermovie: Studio Kazmankante