Paris (AFP)

Braving the rain and cold, about 1,500 people came to attend the Olympia Sunday tribute to singer Johnny Hallyday, who disappeared almost two years ago, said an AFP journalist.

"We booked on the first day of the rentals, we wanted to be there, we stayed with Johnny (...) It's as if he was still there, we were at the funeral at the Madeleine. today, "explain Robert and Martine, a couple of sexagenarians who came especially from Seine-et-Marne.

In this rainy Sunday, on the pediment of the Olympia, appear for the 267th time the red letters of Johnny Hallyday.

Three tributes with projections concerts / testimonies were organized until Sunday evening at 12H00, 16H00 and 20H00, to tell the story of the rockstar with the mythical room of the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris.

The widow of the singer, Laeticia, must attend the meeting of 20:00 with their daughters.

This last session must be broadcast in more than 150 cinemas in France, Switzerland, Belgium.

The films shown to the public are in two parts. First there are unpublished interviews, shot by Michel Jankielewicz, artistic advisor of Laeticia Hallyday, where Johnny explains "how he became a star at the Olympia", coated with excerpts from concerts in this hall (266 of 1961 to 2006).

Then there are the live duets at the Olympia, in 2000, "never broadcast", explained this week the adviser of Laeticia, with "France Gall, Patrick Bruel, Paul Person, Pascal Obispo, Catherine Lara ...".

During the first session, spectators sang back the artist's songs.

Each show lasts an hour and a half.

Spectators also have the opportunity to see Johnny's reconstructed lodge during his long stint at Olympia in 2001, with the same beige leather sofa and, on a carrier, the real clothes he wore for this series of concerts. His perfume, his usual pack of cigarettes are laid on a table.

Tickets (all sold) for the show ranged from 30 to 100 euros.

In an interview published by the Journal du Dimanche, Laeticia wants a museum in memory of the singer, who died on December 5, 2017, to open in Paris.

© 2019 AFP