At the World Expo in Dubai, L’Oréal will present ‘Notre-Dame de Paris, the Experience’, a virtual immersion in the history of the cathedral produced by French start-up, Histovery, from October 1 to November 1, 2021.
The presentation prefigures the augmented exhibition ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ scheduled to take place in Paris in spring 2022. As a donor for the rebuilding of the cathedral and an Expo 2020 Dubai partner, L’Oréal was keen to share the exhibition in the France Pavilion to plunge visitors from all over the world into the history of Notre-Dame de Paris, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Using the HistoPad augmented reality technology developed by Histovery, which creates immersive, interactive reconstructions, visitors equipped with tablets will be able to go back in time and see the cathedral being built in the Middle Ages. They will also be able to witness the coronation of Emperor Napoleon I, see the Viollet-le-Duc spire being erected and take a look at the operation designed to safeguard the structure since the fire, prior to the start of the reconstruction.
‘Notre-Dame de Paris, the Experience’, sponsored exclusively by L’Oréal, will take place throughout October 2021 in the France Pavilion. It will prefigure the augmented exhibition ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ which will take place at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris in spring 2022. This larger exhibition will take visitors on a journey back through the cathedral’s 850-year history. It is expected to tour Europe, the Americas and Asia while the reconstruction continues.
Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of L’Oréal, said: “L’Oréal is proud to support this project dedicated to Notre-Dame and created by Histovery. The terrible fire that struck the cathedral shocked and saddened people all over the world. This exhibition will be an opportunity to tell the story of this World Heritage treasure through an innovative and engaging interpretive experience.”
Army General, Jean-Louis Georgelin, President of the Public Institution, responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, said: “I would like to warmly thank L’Oréal for having made this immersive and innovative experience possible. Thanks to Histovery’s expertise, visitors will now be able to experience the cathedral’s restoration site from the inside and discover the expertise and skills of the different trades that have come together.”