WE LOVE GREEN Festival, Paris

Last minute tickets are on sale for WE LOVE GREEN, the pioneering Parisian festival that from 30-31 May sees the likes of Django Django, Lapsley, Daniel Avery, Redinho, Sophie, Ben UFO and Citizens! take centre stage in the natural surrounds of the French capital’s Botanical Garden.

A limited number of day tickets have been made available for EUR 42,90, while the final few two-day passes are up for grabs and going fast at just EUR 75,00 on welovegreen.fr and digitick.com

Joining the Brit contingent in the Parc de Bagatelle are some of New York’s finest in Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas+The Voidz, Ratatat, Joey Bada$$ and Nicholas Jaar with an album exclusive. The stellar international line-up also features Californians Hanni El Khatib, Shlohmo and Allah-Las, along with Berlin collaboration Siriusmodeselektor, French artist of the year Christine and the Queens, compatriots H-Burns and Flavien Berger, and Paris’ own Teki Latex & Orgasmic. More music comes from The Jets, Seun Kuti, Ghost Culture, C.A.R., Pional, and Roman Flügel.

WE LOVE GREEN also gives festival-goers the chance to get back to nature in the European Week for Sustainable Development and swap ideas with leading activists, NGOs and social entrepreneurs. In a first this year, the cultural project has created ‘The Think Tank’, a 500-capacity clearing amid the greenery where people can use HD translation sound helmets to tune into eye-catching projections and thought-provoking documentaries, interviews and roundtables.

Among the high-profile speakers are Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace Worldwide; Jeremy Rifkin, economic and social theorist and author of the ‘Third Industrial Revolution’; Sea Shepherd pirate Captain Paul Watson; Transantarctica explorer Jean-Louis Etienne; Yannick Jadot, Member of the European Parliament; Pascal Canfin, former French Minister of Development and now senior advisor on climate for the World Resources Institute; and Renaud Bettin from French non-profit NGO GERES (Group for the Environment, Renewable Energy and Solidarity).

Projections include ‘The Salt of the Earth’ following the emotive work of photographer Sebastiao Salgado, and ‘Sacre Croissance!’ (Sacred Growth!) by investigative journalist Marie‐Monique Robin who explores the transition to a post-growth society. Documentaries include ‘The Climate Blueprint’ by Ruth Chao & Fran X. Rodriguez that sums up 40 years of international climate negotiations ahead of COP21, which takes place from 30 November to 11 December 2015.

Under 12s get free entry to the family-friendly festival which caters for 200 children each day in the newly renovated Parc playground. Activities running in collaboration with l’Atelier des Enfants include games, story-telling and arts and creative workshops in a safe and secure environment.

True to form the Parisians will lay on gastronomic treats with food bikes delivering metre-long baguettes with ‘the best ham in Paris’ from Prince de Paris in Gontran and Cherrier artisan bread. Visitors to the capital of romance will love the oyster bar, La Ruche Qui Dit Oui picnic baskets and the Rochefort family’s homemade, organic fries from Ile de France. More culinary delights come from the Le Petit Cambodge outdoor kitchen, African street-food concept Table Na Li, festival mainstay La Guinguette D’Angele’s famous vegetarian and gluten-free bites, globetrotting chef Julie Basset, Miss Banh Mi’s seasonal sandwiches, and traditional Riviera recipes from Les Nicois.

In keeping with its values, WE LOVE GREEN has published its own charter on renewable energies, waste, recycling, responsible catering, recovery of uneaten food, water supply, collaboration with the circular economy actors and associations, and carbon offsetting.

Tickets and full details are available at welovegreen.fr