While most of us channelled our scariest alter-egos for Halloween, the LEGO Group had a decidedly more wholesome weekend planned. On Saturday and Sunday, in the heart of Paris, LEGO hosted an immersive event that celebrated sport, play,and creativity with their For The Joy Of Play event. The festivities celebrated the launch of the new LEGO® Ideas Table Football set complete with a campaign film starring Thierry Henry and Marcus Rashford, and activities that sent us all back to childhood.
Guests young and old (and all ages in between) queued round the block at Rue Des Francs-Bourgeois from Saturday morning to see the space, transformed by AMO and CONSUL into a nostalgic wonderland of LEGO bricks. The centrepiece was a yellow-tinged LEGO pool, where guests were invited to dig in and contribute to the accompanying mural which celebrated some of the world’s most iconic footballers (all created in LEGO bricks, of course), and to add their own names to the wall of fame too. The mural was surrounded, suitably with some of the company’s most iconic football themed releases, stadiums, teams and sets, from decades past.
The other fun house-esque zones channelled all of our favourite aspects of the beautiful game: from the courtyard we emerge into The Lab, where in between talks from some of the biggest names across the industries of sport, design and fashion, guests could make their own LEGO creations, designing football shirts and recreating their country’s or club’s flags. Leaving The Lab, guests walk through a beautifully lit ramped zone that evokes the experience of walking out to the pitch as a professional footballer into the locker room area where we were invited to make our own virtual football shirts.
Continuing to channel the nostalgic vibe, in the adjoining room, The Arena LEGO-lovers of all ages were invited to partake in their own table football tournaments, interacting with the new set – which for the first time ever features a range of football figurines inclusive of gender, age, race and ability – presided over by live commentary. “Our aim was to ignite a sense of play in everyone,” says Alero Dawn Akuya, VP Global Brand at the LEGO Group. “Play is so important to the LEGO Group; it’s not only great fun, but it brings families together, and most importantly, inspires endless creativity.”
It was here over the weekend that attendees could hear how these industry giants carry LEGO’s ethos of creativity, play and fun into their adult lives and creative processes. In a series of bilingual conversations, crowds were able to hear from legends and icons in their respected fields. Thierry Henry spoke on the art of the beautiful game, past, present and future, with journalist Samia Benyounes. Dior Beauty’s Fanny Bourdette-Donon, meanwhile, spoke to Pigalle founder Stéphane Ashpool about using personal style as a vehicle for playful expression, and artist Yué Wu spoke to Illustrator Aurélia Durand about the power of play in the artistic process and creative experimentation.
“It’s something very important for all of us,” Thierry Henry said following his talk on the importance of play as a concept. “It unlocks the creativity you have in your brain to see the world a bit better – and there’s nothing better than LEGO to do this.” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves – the weekend was a both an opportunity to dive back into the past, to rediscover the nostalgia of freedom and play, and a masterclass in bringing that joy into our present, adult lives.
Credits
Concept & Programming: CONSUL
Installation Design: AMO in collaboration with CONSUL
Production: Volontiers
Space Photography: Benoit Florençon
Event Photography: Djiby Kebe