Naissance d'une cité

Naissance d'une cité was a "popular spectacle" held at the Vélodrome d'hiver on 18 October 1937 as part of the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne.

There was a chorus — achieved by amplifying the voice of radio announcer, but original plans to project a film onto a big screen were dropped, in favour of an enormous backdrop designed by Fernand Léger.

[1] A copy of this backdrop, entitled La Naissance d'une cité, was dedicated by Léger to Jean-Richard Bloch.

The story concerned a group of workers trapped in a monotonous job who plan to set up a utopian community on an Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

[4] In 2006 the Groupe Études Jean-Richard Bloch republished the book, Naissance d'une cité, related to the original show.