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Moulin Rouge windmill restored after collapse – in time for Olympics

Moulin Rouge windmill restored after collapse - in time for Olympics

Paris’ famed Moulin Rouge cabaret got its iconic red windmill back on Friday after it collapsed earlier this year.

A special ceremony that featured can-can dancing on the plaza outside marked the restoration of the windmill – an emblem of the surrounding Montmartre neighbourhood.

The mill’s huge sails and part of the cabaret’s illuminated sign crashed to the ground after a show in April due to a technical problem, according to its director.

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April: Moulin Rouge loses windmill blades

No one was hurt and the mayor of Paris’ 18th district said the structure was not in danger.

Sails of the landmark red windmill atop the Moulin Rouge, Paris' most famous cabaret club, are seen on the ground after a fall off during the night in Paris, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Sails of the landmark red windmill atop the Moulin Rouge, Paris' most famous cabaret club, are seen on the ground after a fall off during the night in Paris, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Sails of the landmark red windmill atop the Moulin Rouge, Paris' most famous cabaret club, are seen on the ground after a fall off during the night in Paris, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Image:
Pic: Reuters


The cabaret scrambled to repair the damage before the Olympic torch relay passes through the area on 15 July.

The windmill was first illuminated on 6 October 1889 at the opening of the Moulin Rouge. The cabaret is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.

A crane lifts one of the four new windmill sails to install it atop the Moulin Rouge, Paris' most famous cabaret club, after its sails fell off in Paris, France, June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The cabaret, which is marking its 135th anniversary this year, is a major tourist attraction and was the subject of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film musical starring Nicole Kidman.

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A musical version of the film also debuted on Broadway in 2019 and opened on the West End in 2022.

More than 600,000 people visit the cabaret every year.