60 years. A party to match.
Client Michelin
Event type Company anniversary
Participants 1500
Date 4 to 5 October 2024
Michelin Bassens was blowing out 60 candles. We turned an industrial car park into an XXL funfair.
Two days. Two audiences. One ambition: that everyone would remember it.
The challenge
Celebrate six decades of a major industrial site without it feeling like a ceremony.
Sixty years of industrial history, of families who gave their lives to a site, of retirees who built it and employees who keep it running today. Michelin Bassens wanted to mark the anniversary in a way worthy of what the site represents: an event that speaks to everyone, from elected officials and partners to employees, families and retirees.
Our mission
design a two-day format with two distinct tones and total coherence. Day one, institutional and unifying. Day two, festive and open to all. And running through both, the same thread: the pride of belonging to something that lasts.
An industrial car park can become
What did we build? Our 2 Culture Makers Moments
DAY 1 — The celebration
- Official opening with elected officials and partners
The institutional moment, designed not to feel like one. An opening that sets the frame without weighing it down, and sets the tone for what follows. - Live jazz band
Music as the first gesture of hospitality. An atmosphere that settles everyone in before the day has really begun. - Presentation of Michelin’s ambitions
150 people, a speech looking to the future. We designed the set and the staging so the moment lived up to the site’s history. - Cocktail-style lunch
A time to meet and talk, designed so conversations flow naturally between generations, trades and partners. - Factory tour aboard a secure mini-train
The factory as a place of wonder. A rare, almost intimate format that reveals what few people ever get to see and creates an immediate sense of belonging.
DAY 2 — The party
- Welcoming families and retirees
Shuttles, a carefully planned welcome, signage so nobody feels lost and everyone feels expected. The retirees who built the site deserved an entrance worthy of their story. - XXL funfair
Rides, sweet stalls, face painting for children. The industrial car park gone, replaced by a complete fairground world. A complete transformation that sparks wonder from the very first steps. - Workshop making accessories from recycled tyres
A dedicated graphic creation, displayed and given away. So every employee and every family leaves with a piece of this story in their hands. - Remote-control car circuit, giant table football, bikes
The activities that mean children don’t want to leave, and adults become children again. The play area as a space for connection. - Chairman’s speech & factory tour
The closing word, human and grounded. Followed by another mini-train tour for those who couldn’t make it the day before, because nobody should miss it. - DJ all day long
The soundtrack of a festive day, from morning until closing. The beat that keeps the energy up, from the gates opening to the last drink.
Behind the scenes
Two days, two approaches, no visible seams
Moving from an institutional event to a family party open to all without one overshadowing the other: that’s the central design challenge. Every detail of day two was designed to be accessible to a 6-year-old and moving for a 75-year-old retiree.
Transforming the car park: the real feat
Setting up a complete funfair on a private industrial car park in 48 hours is a major logistical and safety challenge. Permits, fairground suppliers, crowd flow, securing zones: invisible to the guests, titanic behind the scenes.
The factory tour as an experience
Running secure mini-train tours on a working industrial site means fine coordination between the Michelin teams, HSE constraints and what visitors actually experience. The result: a rare, authentic moment that exists nowhere else.
The CSR workshop as a highlight, not an obligation
“La vie est Belt” is not just another CSR workshop ticked off a list. It is a creative experience that transforms a symbol of the company – the tyre – into a personal object. The best way to make a value tangible is to put it into people’s hands.
Industrial companies have
