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The Opéra Bastille soon to undergo 10 years of renovations?

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The Editor

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This Tuesday, the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, was heard before the Finance Committee of the National Assembly. Among the topics discussed was the urgent renovation of the Opéra Bastille, which might take a bit longer than initially expected.

Last October, a report on the management of the National Opera of Paris was published by the Cour des comptes, highlighting the advanced state of aging of the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille, urgently calling for renovation work. This major project is set to last for two years, starting from July 2027 for the national theatre in the 9th district and from July 2030 for the modern opera house in the 12th district. However, this week brought some bad news as we learned that the work might take a little longer than expected.


A longer project than anticipated

As was announced right from the start of the project, the most significant renovations at the Opéra Bastille are slated to begin in 2030, requiring the site to close for at least 2 years.

ns. However, the overall project will actually start a lot earlier than that, and it will last much longer too. Indeed, a first wave of transformations in an occupied site (meaning without closing it down) will begin next summer and continue until 2027. On the agenda: roof and terrace waterproofing, glazed facade… So, 10 years of pre-work before the announced closure, which will especially allow for much-needed renovations since, according to Rachida Dati, “the stage could collapse.” What's the total budget for these transformations? 400 million euros, provided by the Opéra national de Paris, as well as patrons and the State.


Works All Around

And Bastille won’t be the only affected site, because out of the 600 million euros allocated for the project, 200 will be dedicated to the Palais Garnier, which is scheduled to close as early as 2027, for a duration of 2 years as well. The same project here: renovating the stage equipment and the stage cage. In the meantime, no worries, you have plenty of time to enjoy the next two exceptional seasons of the institutions to soak up some culture!