'' Naissance d'une cité'' was a "popular

spectacle In general, spectacle refers to an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. Derived in Middle English from c. 1340 as "specially prepared or arranged display" it was borrowed from Old French ''spectacle'', itself a reflection of the ...

" held at the Vélodrome d'hiver on 18 October 1937 as part of the

Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne The ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne'' (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Mu ...

. The

auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...

for the event was Jean-Richard Bloch. The spectacle was based around the story of an oil-rich colony led by an engineer which was threatened by an imperialist power. However, following the intervention of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, there was a decision to pool the world's resource and an era of endless peace was ushered in. The drama unrolled to the sound of horns and sirens, radio news flashes and during the finale not only were there wrestling matches and athletic events, but the cycle track of the Vélodrome d'hiver was used for a cycle race. There was a chorus — achieved by amplifying the voice of radio announcer, but original plans to project a film onto a big screen were dropped, in favour of an enormous backdrop designed by

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

. A copy of this backdrop, entitled ''La Naissance d'une cité'', was dedicated by Léger to Jean-Richard Bloch. It fetched €93,600 when auctioned at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

in 2005. The score included contributions from

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

and Jean Wiener. The plot was adjusted to fit the publicised optimism of the sponsors, the French Popular Front government. The story concerned a group of workers trapped in a monotonous job who plan to set up a utopian community on an Island in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. In 2006 the Groupe Études Jean-Richard Bloch republished the book, ''Naissance d'une cité'', related to the original show.

References

{{Authority control 1937 in France Culture of Paris October 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne