On the 20th and 21st of November, skateboarding came to the Grand Palais. Thanks to Quiksilver, one of the most iconic cultural and historic sites of Paris welcomed for the first time ever, Tony Hawk, the global icon of skateboarding, accompanied by the worlds best vert ramp specialists. Together, they put on a show that will go down in skateboarding history.

On the biggest vert ramp ever built in Europe beneath the vast glass ceiling of the Grand Palais, Tony Hawk, Andy MacDonald, Sandro Dias, Jean Postec, Kevin Staab, Jesse Fritsch, Sergie Ventura and Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins sent shivers down the spines of the 5500 privileged spectators lucky enough to be there.

The evening began with a parade of 30 boardsports stars ranging from Robby Naish to Kelly Slater. Names included Travis Rice, Torah Bright, Candide Thovex, Jérémy Florès, Mathieu Crépel, Serge Vitelli, Mark Richards, Tom Carroll, Lisa Andersen and Robert Tériitéhau. This gala evening included one of the best shows of vert ramp skating ever seen in the world thanks to Tony Hawk and his friends.

The highlights included the famous 900° from the birdman - a trademark move which Tony Hawk first completed at the X-Games. The action climaxed with the first Mctwist 540° ever completed by a female on a ramp this size by Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins. Landing the historic move she was triumphantly lifted up by her peers and congratulated by Kelly Slater.

The evening was rounded up by a live concert by Dead by Sunrise, the new band formed by Chester Bennington, the voice of Linkin Park, and a DJ set by Mix Master Mike, the Beastie Boys DJ.

During the two days of November 20th and 21st, the public attended a street skating competition held on a street course proportional to the spectacular dimensions of the Grand Palais. They also watched live creations from urban artist André. Live concerts from Tha Thrickaz, Dead Rock Machine and the electro sounds of Bob Sinclar, ignited the atmosphere inside the Grand Palais on Friday night.

In total 8902 visitors attended the daytime events of Saturday at the Grand Palais, bringing to 14402 (including the 5500 spectators on the Saturday evening) the total number of people present on Saturday 21st November. (less info)