Exceptional: Lyon stands out in New-York
ONLYLYON has launched a major networking and promotional operation to spread the word about Lyon to a targeted audience in New York.
Lifestyle
ONLYLYON is a partner in the event dedicated to French lifestyle in to be held on 17 May 2012 in New York, as a preview to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and Wanted Design, a fringe exhibition. This event will be held in the Skyroom at Alliance Française, in the heart of Manhattan.
Top names from Lyon
The open-house, reserved to industry professionals and the media, will feature a showroom presenting selected Lyon brands that have one point in common: excellence and French lifestyle.
A number of partners will be accompanying us for this event. These include Cellerier, a top name on Lyon’s fine dining scene; Richard Sève, renowned Master Chocolatier and pastry chef; and François Payard, a French pastry chef who lives in New York and is a true star in the United States. Sève and Payard will lead a workshop on the praline tart, in order to present this typical Lyon specialty in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
In addition to the fine foods brands, other brands on hand include Fermob, a designer and manufacturer of outdoor furniture that Americans just love; Grange, a manufacturer of traditional furniture; and Eurocave, inventor of the wine cabinet.
VIP Party
A VIP party has been organized bringing together trendsetters, business leaders, tour operators, and high-end media to build relationships and present an ONLYLYON exhibition on the city of Lyon, to be displayed at the venue.
International Media Tour
This is an original operation in which ONLYLYON will promote one of Lyon’s most important assets – its lifestyle – in the United States. New York is thus the first step in a broader initiative: the ONLYLYON Business and Media Tour. This networking operation, which aims to reach a key target for Lyon (the media, investors, opinion leaders and more) will also be held this year in London, Brussels, Frankfurt and Paris.
Lyon, world capital of the web
For five days, Lyon will become the web capital of the world during www2012 on 16 – 20 April 2012 at Lyon’s Cité Internationale.
After India in 2011, France will host www2012, the quintessential web event. A key moment during which we address the challenges the sector will face over the next decade.
5 days of meetings
5 days of conferences, meetings and workshops will bring together over 2000 people from around the globe to debate and exchange on 13 topics of discussion and take part in a dozen workshops all addressing the internet.
All of the web’s major players will be present: researchers and industrial actors as well as users. As well as these partners, certain major web companies will also attend such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
Lyon and the digital sphere
Lyon was selected to host this year’s edition because the city represents an innovative and attractive location for the web sector.
With over 22, 000 people working in the digital sector, the Lyon area is France’s # 2 region with over 400 establishments listed in the web sector employing over 3500 people.
Among Lyon’s many key competitive clusters, Imaginove will attend the event on April 19 and will organize a Global Media Connect.
A stand for ONLYLYON
ONLYLYON will also be present to promote the Lyon area and its economic potential in web technologies as well as area’s various actors.
At the stand, an interactive model will present the sector’s various different aspects: its workforce, key centers, clusters and schools. This useful tool will also promote the emergence of a digital enterprise community.
Other events
www2012 joins other web events such as the digital show where regional, national, and international companies promote their expertise.
Other events: CIUEN (the digital era academic symposium) will attract actors from the digital sector working in higher education. And finally, for an international boost ‘ Web Offs’ will be organized all around Lyon.
Lyon, 2012 Web Capital of the World!
We put five questions to Maud Charaf, project manager of www2012 to take place in Lyon from 16-20 April 2012.
- What is www2012?
The world web conference is the event for all web actors: researchers, industrial players, users etc. Given the exponential evolution of the web, the aim of this annual event is to ensure exchange between specialists and users to better anticipate the future and potential consequences for society.
During the event, you can get an idea of the latest web developments and their technological, human, sociological and philosophical effects. This event is an exploration of the web’s perpetually changing horizons.
Lyon will host the 21st edition of this conference, hence the name “www2012”.
- Why was Lyon selected to organize this event? What particular advantages does the city present as host?
Lyon was chosen for several reasons and numerous advantages the city offers:
- Geographic location: close to many European borders and the French capital, and its proximity to both the mountains and the sea for those hoping to take a break after the conference,
- A pleasant and perfectly-sized city,
- Its excellent higher education establishments,
- Its culture and something that simply cannot be overlooked: its gastronomy.
- What is your role in this project?
I am the project manager for ‘Lyon, Web capital of the World’, my role is to coordinate the organization of this influential event (from the finer details to the essentials) and to ensure that the operation is a real success for the participants and public partners alike.
You might think of me as a Swiss army knife- that would sum up my role rather well.
- What are the www2012 ‘off’?
The off is something we invented for several reasons:
- To promote the ‘Lyon, 2012 Web Capital of the World’ event, which combines www2012, CIUEN 2012 and the digital trade show, across the region
- To promote the region’s involvement in this event to participants
- To promote the region’s web actors
- To collate the various sources of information concerning the event (tweets, articles etc.) and to give the event’s partners a voice (bloggers, associations, institutions etc.).
The idea is to get things moving so that participants don’t just consider Lyon as the event’s venue but as a city that encourages and invests in projects; a city where there is ‘life’ outside of the conference.
- What is your favorite spot in Lyon?
That’s a difficult question, there are so many, depending on my mood the city is so rich and diverse.
For the view: The rosary garden, an ideal place to seek some calm, with a great view of the city.
For atmosphere: I’m torn between the Old Town and the Croix Rousse…the Old Town for its historic and timeless aspect and the Croix Rousse for its unique atmosphere, like a village in the city.
For the sport: The Gerland Stadium to support OL, of course!
The www2012 off
Find the event on Facebook and Twitter
Aderly and ONLYLYON wish you a happy new year !
We wish you great success in 2012 !
Festival of Lights: the impact
Just a few days after the 2011 festival of lights, let’s take a look back at the positive effects of this popular and key event.
Visitors
The number of foreign visitors to the Festival of Lights increases each year. During the 2010 event, Greater Lyon Tourism Office noted that 1 out of 3 visitors came from abroad, with a majority attendance of Italians (21 %), Spanish (15 %), Swiss (14 %) and German (8%). And for the first time tourists from Asia (8 %) ranked in the top five countries represented by foreign visitors. Visitors from France (outside of the Rhône-Alpes and Ile de France regions) represented 37 %.
Guided Tours
While winter is not the most favorable period for tourism, there is a clear rise in the number of visits to the city during the Festival of Lights. During the 2010 edition, 317 visitors took the guided tours organized by the Tourism Office from 8-12 December. The welcome pavilion recorded peaks in the number of visitors, with 80% more visitors during this period.
The tourism industry
Professionals in the tourism industry tend to plan a year ahead for the event. To date, 590 tour operators and travel agencies in France and around the world schedule and promote the festival (German, Belgian, Austrian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, English, Swiss and Russian).
Local economy
The effects of the event are very positive for local economic actors: bars and restaurants in the city-center more than quadruple their sales by (x 4.6), hotels are booked six months in advance with some 15, 000 rooms occupied during the event, not to mention the visitors that find alternative accommodation.
A springboard for export
The Festival of Lights acts as a veritable open air showroom. Foreign delegations come to see new artistic and technological trends and also to select the works they want to exhibit in during their own Festivals.
For a certain number of artistic creations presented in Lyon, it is the beginning of a world tour and recognition for the artists.
Since 2008, over 30 pieces have been exhibited in other festivals such as Singapore’s Night Lights Festival, and the Light in Jerusalem Festival. In total, since 2008, the productions have generated over 1.5 million euros in income for the designers.
The Festival of Lights, covering all fronts!
The Festival of Lights has just begun, so here’s a list of ways you can follow the event: Website, iPhone and Android application, Facebook page, Twitter account, merchandise, the France 3 Trophy and more, … The Festival of Lights is covering all fronts!
Mobile phone application
This application will take you into the heart of the festival and will enable you to plan your trip accordingly.
Access the program to consult the events happening around you either by list, by map or by using an ‘augmented reality’ device. While you film the images around you, the ‘augmented-reality’ device will make info bubbles appear with information concerning the events happening around you.
You can also consult events by district or by theme and find practical information to help you to get there.
An interactive page will also enable you to vote for your favorite artistic project with the France 3 Trophy, to find out more about the flashmobs and to connect directly to the Facebook page.
France 3 Trophy
From 8 December, you can vote for your favorite creation. The France 3 Festival of Lights Trophy will be awarded to the winner(s) on 11 December at City Hall. Those who vote will be entered into a lucky draw to win 2 x week-end breaks for two people.
Festival of Lights Flashmobs
Be a part of the Festival by joining in 3 flashmobs:
- Retour aux sources (back to the source): Jeudi 8 December et 8pm, Terrasses de la Guillotière
- Les étoiles filantes (shooting stars): Friday 9 December at 8pm, Place Bellecour
- Vague lumineuse (Wave of light): Sunday11 December at 8pm, Esplanade de la Grande Côte.
To join in, all you have to do is to go to the right place at the right time and to follow the instructions you’ll find in the Fête des Lumières smart phone application.
Festival of Lights boutique
Visitors will be able to purchase Festival of Lights merchandise at 3 different points of sale set up especially for the occasion, as well as an online boutique!
- Boutique Rue Grolée (from 7 to 12 December)
- Boutique Bellecour (from 3 to 11 December)
- Boutique Pradel (from 3 to 12 December)
Five good reasons to take part in the Festival of Lights
5 good reasons to get involved in the Festival of Lights
This year, like every year, the Festival of Lights will begin on 8 December 8 and theme will be: History meets reality!
It is an ambitious project. This year Gérard Collomb wants the event to combine tradition and innovation “with real clout!”.
For the four days of Lyon’s traditional festival, 70 attractions will be dotted across the city to the delight of an expected 4 million visitors.
5 good reasons to join in the Festival of Lights:
- After a long renovation period Saint-Jean Cathedral is back in full view.
- The ‘classics’ are being revisited: Place des Terreaux will see the horses of Bartholdi’s fountain launch into a crazy race along the square’s facades.
- For the 1st time an interactive animation will take the form of a giant pin ball game on façade of the Celestin Theater and scenes filmed by the public will be projected onto Saint Paul train station.
- Lyon council has promised a surprise for Place Bellecour.
- Operation Lumignons du Cœur will collect funds for Unicef
Many other events and surprises will occur each as intimate as they are spectacular, and as poetic as they are unique.
From a technological point of view much progress has been made and the cost of energy this year will not exceed €4000 thanks to the use of LEDs.
See the program on video:
Fête des lumières 2011: la programmation! (Lyon) par telelyonmetropole
Lyon ranked in 8th place in the innovative cities index
The ‘Innovation Cities Top 100 Index 2011’, performed by the Australian agency 2thinknow, ranked Lyon in 8th place in the innovative cities index out of 331 cities in 2011.
Lyon climbed up one place compared with the 2010 results to confirm its designation as an area of dynamic growth and innovation.
In terms of innovation, Lyon comes out well and ranks among the top 10 innovative cities such as Boston, Paris, Amsterdam and San Francisco.
The index is based on 162 different ‘indicators of innovation’, among them: property prices, mobility (public transport), cultural exchange and scientific research.
Exquisite, luxurious & sublime, beaujolais nouveau is our best export!
50,000 visitors from around the world are expected to join the 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau celebrations: the precious AOC (controlled designation of origin) label is an economic boon for Lyon and its region.
The arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau
The whole world awaits its arrival! People gather on the third Thursday of November every year at midnight to celebrate its arrival. This year, the world launch is set to take place on Thursday 17 November!
40 million bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau are sold within three weeks! Last year, 6 million were exported to Japan. It is a luxury product outside of France and we can be proud of this local economic success, which remains successful despite the crisis.
Beaujolais celebrations
Come to Villefranche, Beaujeu, Lyon, Belleville, Gleizé, Lacenas between 16-20 November. 30 different events have been planned this year to welcome our French, Japanese, American, Dutch, German, Belgian and even Romanian friends!
A preview
Let’s take a look at the Fête de Beaujolais Gourmand (Beaujolais celebratory tasting) in Saint-Forgeux, a sumptuous celebration that is renewed every year. In 2011 the chosen theme is ‘Scenes of women’, honoring women everywhere, after all, they are responsible for 80% of all wine purchases!
Most of the 1200 guests expected reserve their places from year to year, including major companies such as Vinci, Eiffage and Spie Batignolles. We have many loyal partners who have supported us over the past 15 years.
Recognized the world over
In addition to the national and international television channels covering the event (from as far as Korea), Inter Beaujolais will broadcast the event on 5 national radio stations: Europe 1, RMC, RTL, RFM and RTL2.
Beaujolais Nouveau is a worthy ambassador of a uniquely French savoir-faire, and a real trump card for tourism in Rhône-Alpes.
Celebrate the arrival of the Beaujolais Nouveau with us
(Prestigious evening, dinner and show, local producers’ market and a tour of the cellars)
About the author : Sylvie COMANZO, ONLYLYON Ambassador, SOLUSCÈNE
Director of Soluscène, artistic coordinator and presenter of the Beaujolais Gourmand festival.
Lyon in the international press!
Lyon is in full transformation (the banks of the Rhône, Confluence, the Part-Dieu project…) and it’s easy to see! These actions led by ONLYLYON are destined to enhance its economic and cultural advantages as well as the city’s quality of life … and they have enabled it to broaden its reach both in France and abroad with articles published in the prestigious Süddeutsche Zeitung and Financial Times which have published articles on the changes in the Rhone Valley’s capital.
Süddeutsche Zeitung, the German daily, with an average daily readership of 1 million people, mentions “Lyon, the silent resurrection” in its 23 September edition.
Read the article in Süddeutsche Zeitung
The Financial Times, another prestigious newspaper, has released a dossier entitled “Lyon thinks big” in fDi, its bi-monthly international investment publication.
Read the article in the Financial Times
Finally, the Express, a well-known French newspaper, has also documented the changes happening in Lyon with a bold title befitting the current projects: “Lyon, the Pari(s) of tomorrow” (“Pari” meaning “wager” in French) in its special edition in September.
Read the article in the Express
Lyon is internationally renowned! This kind of press coverage is always beneficial for Lyon, its economy and tourism etc. Furthermore, the city has held 19th place in this year’s Cushman & Wakefield European cities listing.