Moulin Rouge Gets Its Blades Back

UPDATE Jun 24, 2024 5:35 PM CDT

The famous Moulin Rouge cabaret is getting its blades back just in time for the Paris Olympics. The blades on the windmill on top of the landmark collapsed in April, along with part of the Moulin Rouge sign. AFP reports that four replacement blades arrived by truck Monday, and one was installed. The next three will go up in the coming days. The club is the birthplace of the can-can dance, which scores of dancers will perform in a July 5 ceremony to celebrate the restoration. "The Olympic torch is due to pass the Moulin Rouge on July 15, so it's very important for us to be ready by then," said Virginie Clerico, the Moulin Rouge brand manager.

Apr 25, 2024 7:12 AM CDT

A bad omen ahead of the Paris Olympics? The blades on the windmill on top of the famed Moulin Rouge cabaret collapsed early Thursday morning, leaving debris in the street but not causing injuries, the BBC reports. The first three letters of the Moulin Rouge sign also fell off. "Moulin Rouge" means "Red Mill" but the sign now reads "Lin Rouge," meaning "Red Linen." The cause of the collapse is unclear, though it is believed to be a mechanical problem. "Every week, the cabaret's technical teams check the windmill mechanism and did not note any problems," a source tells AFP.

There hasn't been a similar problem with the windmill since the venue first opened its doors in October 1889, a few months after the Eiffel Tower opened, though the entire building was ravaged by fire in 1915 and rebuilt in 1921. A spokeswoman for the venue tells the New York Times that the blades will be restored "very quickly." Moulin Rouge director Jean-Victor Clerico told TV station TF1 that the collapse happened around 2am, more than an hour after the last show finished, the Washington Post reports.

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Clerico said the cabaret will open as usual Thursday night. "The show continues, that's the most important thing," he said. The Moulin Rouge, where the can-can dance was invented, has long been one of the city's top tourist attractions. Parisians said it was disturbing to see it without the famous red blades. "Paris without its windmill is like Paris without its Eiffel Tower," Andre Duval, a former head waiter at the venue, told Le Parisien. (More Paris stories.)