Nagui’s « Taratata » Celebrates 30 Years with Star-Studded Concert
From Ed Sheeran to Nile Rodgers to Juliette Armanet, more than 80 artists answered Nagui’s call to celebrate the 30th anniversary of « Taratata » in grand style, a testament to the tenacity of its host and the « trust » established with the music scene. In October, Nagui expressed his heartfelt wish for this anniversary to be seen by as many people as possible, just a week after the recording of the concert at Paris La Défense Arena. The concert, which aired on France 2 on Friday evening, was an impressive production, with 84 artists performing for 3.5 hours in front of a crowd of 40,000 people. The event raised 1.2 million euros in support of the foundation for medical research and the fight against cancer, with 970 people involved in the production, 18 cameras, and 96 tons of equipment.
The production managed to sell out the largest indoor venue in Europe without revealing the list of participants. Alongside regulars such as Zazie, Pascal Obispo, and Bernard Lavilliers, all of whom were present during the first episode of the show in January 1993, artists of all ages and styles were in attendance, including Ed Sheeran, who is a huge fan of « Taratata » and was approached before Nagui’s team was even aware. Nagui recalls telling him before the show’s opening, « we are celebrating 30 years, it would be cool if you could come. » And when Sheeran responded positively « two seconds before going on stage, you want to cry, » Nagui enthused.
Among the other standout surprises of the evening were the « trio of bands » Dionysos-Louise Attaque-Texas performing Joe Dassin’s « Siffler sur la colline, » freestyle rapping by French artists during Nile Rodgers’ first appearance on the show, and a specially composed song for the occasion by M. M, a regular on Taratata.
Nagui justifies the event as a display of « mutual respect, trust, and common values » which are important to defend in the current context. He notes that no artist received a fee and no money was taken from ticket sales to fund the production. France Télévisions, with a standard budget for its time slot (not specified), contributed to « less than half » of the cost, with the rest being covered by Banijay, the media conglomerate that owns Nagui’s production company Air Productions.
Regardless of its viewership, the event marks yet another triumph for the co-creator of a program that has endured many « twists and turns » since its inception and has managed to resist the sway of social media, which has taken over television as a platform for artist promotion.
« Saved » the first time by composer Jean-Jacques Goldman, who participated at short notice in its second episode, « Taratata, » which was briefly hosted by Alexandra Kazan, has made multiple comebacks on France 2, France 3, and France 4. The show was canceled on France 2 in 2013 for budgetary reasons due to its late time slot (12:30 am on Fridays) but was later resurrected on the internet in partnership with Vente-Privée, and returned to television in 2015 under the leadership of the President of France Télévisions, Delphine Ernotte. In recent years, its audience has ranged from less than a million to three million viewers. Two years ago, however, Nagui’s talent show « The Artist » did not enjoy the same success. Nevertheless, the music lover can boast of « an hour of music every day on television » with « N’oubliez pas les paroles, » which leads the ratings at 7 pm, far ahead of talk shows like « Quotidien » and « TPMP. »
(Note: The reliability of the sources cited in the article couldn’t be evaluated as they are not mentioned. However, the information provided appears to be accurate and in line with known facts regarding the anniversary concert of « Taratata. »)
