Moulin Rouge’s iconic windmill sails restored after collapse just in time for the Olympics
The famous Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris got its iconic red windmill back on Friday just in time for the Summer Olympics later this month.
The mill’s huge sails inexplicably collapsed after a show in April at the iconic venue, an emblem of the surrounding Montmartre neighborhood. When the sails fell, they took with them the first three letters of the Moulin Rouge sign.
Benoit Tessier/REUTERS
“It’s sad, just sad,” Danish tourist Lars Thygesen told CBS News at the time.
“I hope they will build it up again, so it will be as it always has been, the old Moulin Rouge,” added his partner Lise.
No one was hurt and the mayor of Paris’ 18th district said the structure was not in danger.
The Moulin Rouge scrambled to repair the damage before July 15, when the Olympic torch relay is expected to draw big crowds as it passes through the area.
Thibault Camus / AP
On Friday, a special ceremony that featured can-can dancing on the plaza outside marked the restoration.
The windmill was first illuminated on Oct. 6, 1889, at the opening of the Moulin Rouge.
The cabaret, marking its 135th anniversary this year, is a major tourist attraction and was celebrated in the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film musical starring Nicole Kidman.
Cabaret management says its performers represent 18 nationalities and it receives 600,000 spectators a year.
