Reopening of Puy du Fou on June 11 - 20 Minutes

  • Le Puy du Fou reopens on Thursday June 11, two months late.
  • To fight against the coronavirus, the management of the Vendée park has implemented important sanitary measures.
  • For example, only half of the spectators will be able to sit in a grandstand.

"You're late, the riders ..." Nicolas Gautron, the manager of the show Le secret de la Lance , gives his instructions at the microphone from the empty platform. He is uncompromising on timings. He knows that in six days, it will no longer be time for rehearsals and confusion. Puy du Fou will reopen its doors to the public, two months late, Thursday June 11, in a necessarily very specific health context.

On May 21, Philippe de Villiers, its founder, created controversy by announcing the reopening of the second French theme park ... before this possibility was officially announced by the government. "Our word and our fight may have accelerated the reopening of cultural places", proudly believes today, Nicolas de Villiers, son of the founder and president of the Vendée park. At the forefront of the fight for the reopening of cultural sites, Puy du Fou now knows that it is eagerly awaited on the health side ... "We will be extremely demanding to ensure the safety and serenity of our visitors and our employees", ensures Nicolas de Villiers.

The hygiene teams saw their number multiply by three

Friday morning, the original health protocol was detailed. The flow in the alleys of Puy du Fou, "which are twice the area of ​​the Champs Elysées", according to Nicolas de Villiers, will be organized so as to avoid crowd encounters. 250 hydroalcoholic gel dispensers will be disseminated in the park, which welcomed more than 2.3 million visitors in 2019. The wearing of a mask will be compulsory in closed places when people walk around (restaurants and performance halls). The hygiene teams have seen their number multiply by three to better manage the disinfection of places with a lot of traffic (grandstands, restaurants, etc.).

In the stands, the gauges will decrease considerably. More than half. Between each spectator, there will be at least 2 m and only one row out of two will be occupied. A normal tonnage of 3,000 spectators will barely welcome 1,200 people. To manage flows and avoid crowding, the number of shows will be multiplied by three each day. After losing "between 30 and 40 million euros in turnover" due to Covid-19 [opening two months late, reservations divided by four in June, etc.], according to Nicolas de Villiers, Le Puy du Fou, which should welcome 19,000 people a day at its peak this summer (possibility of receiving 38,000 at most), has made a financial effort of 400,000 euros for all health measures.

Masked artists during shows

Employees (more than 2,000) will not be forgotten. The vast majority will be masked. And even the artists during the shows. "These will be themed masks," explains Nicolas Gautron, head of the show  Le secret de la Lance . There will also be changes in movement, costumes and staging to respect the distances between actors. "

Marguerite, the main character of this medieval show, will therefore always keep at least a meter of distance from the soldiers who will surround her ... Another example: during the Ghost Birds Ball , the trainers will no longer offer meat to the buzzards among the spectators , but behind. Let thrill seekers be reassured. "There will always be the feeling of birds flying over the heads of the public," said Thierry Bouchet, director of the Puy du Fou falconry academy.

La Cinéscénie du Puy du Fou (night show) will not resume until July 24.

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  • Covid 19
  • Society
  • Video
  • Coronavirus
  • Tourism
  • Culture
  • Philippe de villiers
  • Amusement park