Accompanied with great finesse by Baume & Mercier, the 25th edition of the “Violon sur le Sable” classical music festival entranced over 150,000 holiday-makers during the last week of July, who had gathered to admire exceptional artists performing with their feet in the sands of the beach in Royan, France. The festivities featured plenty of rhythm and originality, including the overture by Philippe Tranchet on the roof of the Notre Dame church; a Picnic concert given by soprano Annick Massis at the foot of the Cordouan Lighthouse; guest star Patrick Fiori; Jean-Pierre Marielle as the storyteller for Peter and the Wolf, pianists Jean-François Zygel and Andy Emler engaged in an improvisation battle on the central court of the Royan Garden  Tennis club, facing the ocean… To immortalise these typical “seaside living” moments, Baume & Mercier CEO Alain Zimmermann presented violinist Patrice Mondon with watch no.1 of the “Un Violon sur le Sable” limited edition specially created for the occasion”.

Hamilton in airshow mode

The aerobatics performed at the French “Meeting de France” airshow were timed by Hamilton. The French Airforce, ALAT and the Aéronavale (airborne wing of the French navy) had all converged on the town of Coulomniers for the September 16th event, where over 40,000 spectators admired the exceptional demonstrations given by Tiger, Mirage 2000N, 2000D, Morane 317, T6, Cri Cri, Dakota DC3 and Votec 351 aircraft. This exceptional occasion was enlivened not only by the performances of the Free Flight World Masters Tour, of which Hamilton is a loyal partner, but also by shows on the ground featuring a variety of artists including Lido dancers, singer Priscilla Betti, the cheerleaders of the Stade de France rugby team, two Swiss and French rock groups respectively named Stranded Heroes and Zanzibar, (Stranded Heroes) attention dans toutes les langues, pas Stranted and was even graced with the presence of Miss France 2012.