PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Vivendi (Paris:VIV) today announced plans to open ten live-performance venues in Central and West Africa under the name CanalOlympia in the coming months. The first CanalOlympia halls will be located in Conakry in Guinea, Cotonou in Benin, Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo and Dakar in Senegal. Suitable locations are being identified with the launch of tender processes beginning for the project.
The venues will serve as concert halls, theatres and screening rooms to enhance access to culture and entertainment in countries frequently lacking such facilities, thereby stimulating talent-development in Africa.
The CanalOlympia halls will offer local artists a chance to perform and will create a network of venues where tours can be organized in particular at the initiative of Island Africa, the Universal Music Group label. The halls will also be fitted with a recording studio and a rehearsal room to help identify talent, support new artists and provide international exposure, whether musicians, singers or comedians.
The foundation stone of the first CanalOlympia, in Conakry in Guinea, was laid on September 27 in presence of Alpha Condé, President of Guinea. The venue will open its doors mid-2016 with a capacity of more than 400 people. In addition, the stage can be reconfigured for open-air events that can accommodate more than 3,000 fans. This indoor/outdoor approach will be applied to all CanalOlympia venues.
Branding the venues CanalOlympia reflects the iconic nature of two Vivendi businesses. Canal+ is well-known in Africa, with a presence in some 20 countries across the continent where it has stood for quality entertainment, impertinence and creativity for decades. L’Olympia is the iconic Parisian concert hall, which hosts performances by the world’s most prestigious artists and young talent. Executives from L’Olympia will play a major advisory role in the launch of the CanalOlympia venues.
The CanalOlympia halls form part of Vivendi’s strategy to reinforce the Group’s presence in high-growth markets, where an emerging middle class is consuming more content. Vivendi also intends to be a leading player in identifying new entertainment talent, which is vital to an international media and content group.
About Vivendi
Vivendi is an integrated media and content group. The company operates businesses throughout the media value chain, from talent discovery to the creation, production and distribution of content. The main subsidiaries of Vivendi comprise Canal+ Group and Universal Music Group. Canal+ is the leading pay-TV operator in France, and also serves markets in Africa, Poland and Vietnam. Canal+ operations include Studiocanal, a leading European player in production, sales and distribution of film and TV series. Universal Music Group is the world leader in recorded music, music publishing and merchandising, with more than 50 labels covering all genres. A separate division, Vivendi Village, brings together Vivendi Ticketing (ticketing in the UK, France and the U.S.), MyBestPro (experts counseling), Watchever (subscription video-on-demand) and the Paris-based concert venue L’Olympia. With 3 billion videos viewed each month, Dailymotion is one of the biggest aggregation and distribution platforms in the world. www.vivendi.com, www.cultureswithvivendi.com
