Yves Pépin is a creator of multimedia shows and large-scale events including the multi-awarded Eiffel Tower Millennium Show. In the course of his career, Pépin's projects have bee
honored with many awards
an outstanding personal honor was received in 2006, when his peers in the

Themed Entertainment Association The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its Thea Awards, which were founded in 1995 and a ...

, the international association for creators of compelling places and experiences, presented him with the prestigious TEA Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements.

Early life

A native of Bordeaux, France, Pépin pursued a specialist music education up to age 16. He later took a French postgraduate degree in economics and politics, and also received a French government bursary to attend a two-year, full-time education program at the Center for Research and Arabic Studies in Beirut. He worked as a French radio presenter and producer between 1968 and 1970 in Lebanon, Morocco and Paris. From 1970 to 1974, he was project manager and group manager at Orel, a communications company located in Paris. In 1974, he founded, along with Yves Devraine and Thierry Arnaud, the design and production company ECA2.

Leading ECA2

Under his direction, the company designed the logos for

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

and

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

, among others, and produced the first interactive visuals for the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

and the Louvre. After Yves Devraine and Thierry Arnaud departed the company, Pépin shifted its focus to the production of multimedia shows. In 1989 Pépin, a keen innovator, created and developed the process of Cinema on Water Screen (AQUASCAN®), a system subsequently adopted by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

, among others. Yves Pépin has built a worldwide reputation as a designer and producer of ground-breaking multimedia entertainments for one-off, semi-permanent and permanent performance, including major world broadcast events as the Football World Cup 98 Ceremonies, the Millennium fireworks celebration show at the Eiffel Tower in 2000, advising for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Ceremonies, and producing several World Expo Night Shows.

Today

Since 2008, Pépin has worked as an independent. In addition to his role as consultant for major companies and institutions, he is designing and directing multimedia shows, as for Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar and New Delhi (performed daily); and multimedia concerts such as "Lost in Space" with Jeff Mills and l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in 2018.

Body of work

He has conceived and staged one-off productions for a host of landmark events, including:

Events

*"Lost in Space" with Jeff Mills: Toulouse, France, 2018 *

Yeosu Yeosu, formerly romanized as Yosu, is a coastal city located on the southern shore of South Korea. With a population of 268,823, Yeosu is the second largest city in South Jeolla Province. In 1998, the Old Yeosu City, Yeocheon City and Yeocheon C ...

2012 World Expo: consultant for "Big O" Night Show *

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

: artistic consultant for Opening and Closing Ceremonies *New

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

launch show, Tokyo, 2006 *"Luz y Voces del Tajin," Mexico, 2003/2005 * Aichi World Expo 2005 (Japan): "Movement is Life," Toyota Pavilion * Athens 2004 Paralympic Games: Opening and Closing Ceremonies *Abuja,

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

(Nigeria, 2003): Opening and Closing Ceremonies *Neuchâtel, National Swiss Expo 2002: Palais de l’Equilibre Permanent Show * Yamaguchi Japan Expo 2001: Night Show *2000

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

Millennium Show (Paris, France) * 1998 Football World Cup (Paris): Opening and Closing Ceremonies * Lisbon World Expo 1998: "AcquaMatrix" Night Show *Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 25th Anniversary (1996) * Sevilla World Expo 1992: Night Show * Disneyland Resort Paris: Opening Show

Leading permanent and daily shows

*"Sahaj Anand": Swaminarayan Akshardham, New Delhi (India) since 2014, still performing as of 2022 *"Sat-Chit-Anand": Night Show, Akshardham Temple, Gandhinagar (India) since 2010, still running as of 2022 *"Cinescénie,"

Puy du Fou Le Puy du Fou () is a historical theme park in Les Epesses, in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France. In 2024, it was the third ...

(France): still running as of 2019 *"Songs of the Sea" Night Shows:

Sentosa Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to ...

(Singapore), 2007-2014 *"Le Mystère de la Note Bleue" Night Shows:

Futuroscope Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic, and audiovisual techniques.Piriou, Jerome. The Tourist Region: A Co-Construction of Tourism Stakehol ...

(France), 2009-2012 *"BraviSeamo" Tokyo Disney Sea (Japan): 2004-2010 *

Magical Sentosa Magical Sentosa (also known as ''Sentosa Magique'' Chinese">French language">French">French_language.html" ;"title="n French language">Frenchor ''神奇圣淘沙'' [in Chinese language">Chinese was a multimedia nighttime show hosted at the Se ...

Night Show: Singapore, 2002-2006 *"Le Miroir d'Uranie" Night Show:

(France), 2002-2005 *"Le Lac aux Images" Night Show:

(France), 2000-2002 *"Mermaids, Myths and Monsters": SeaWorld Parks in Orlando FL, San Antonio TX and Aurora OH (USA), 1994

Water Screen

Pépin has also been credited with playing a big part in the invention of the water projection screen, a specialized fountain nozzle that directs a large 'fan-spray' of water in the air, on which images from projectors and lasers can be displayed.

Awards

*2006

(TEA) Thea Lifetime Achievement honors – first non-American recipient since the awards were founded in 1994
TEA Thea Award
in the Live Event Spectacular category: for "AcquaMatrix" at Lisbon World Expo 1998 *TEA Thea Award (2000) in the Live Event Spectacular category: Eiffel Tower Millennium Show, Paris, aka "Millennium Pyro Ballet"; "Year 2000 Starting Signal" *TEA Thea Award (2007) in the Live Event Spectacular category: Toyota Group Pavilion in Aichi World Expo 2005, Japan *Prix FICHE, Best Show for general public: for 1998 Football World Cup Ceremonies *TEA Thea Award (2008) in the Live Event Spectacular category: for "Songs of the Sea" Night Show in Singapore *ASEAN Best Tourist Attraction in Southeast Asia: for "Songs of the Sea" Night Show in Singapore *Japan Award Special Prize: for new Lexus Launching show in Tokyo National Theatre
TEA Thea Award
(2003) in the Live Event Spectacular category for "Luz y Voces del Tajin," Mexico *Prix FICHE, Best Show for general public: for "KIrara Star Light Fantasy," Yamaguchi Expo 2001, Japan *TiLE Excellence Award: for Globovision system, Swiss Pavilion, Swiss Expo 2002 *Prix FICHE, Best Show for large audience: for Eiffel Tower Millennium Show 2000

References

2. An article about Pépin a

at Disneyland Paris.
3.
write up by Judith Rubin
in connection with Pépin receiving the Thea Award for Lifetime Achievement.
4.

in connection with his chairing the SATE 2012 Experience Design conference for the Themed Entertainment Association.
5
2009 article
from attractions industry media outlet Blooloop referencing Pépin as a featured speaker at the annual IAAPA Attractions Expo, the largest trade gathering of the international attractions industry.
6. A

at Shanghai Expo 2010.
7. An article about his creative role in the production of th
opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics
in Beijing.
8
Article about the 2000 Eiffel Tower Extravaganza
that landed on the covers of Time and Newsweek both and also nabbed a mention in People Magazine. 9
2007 item in Live Design Online
about Pépin and ECA2 in connection with the TEA Thea Award for the Toyota Pavilion at Aichi Expo 2005 world's fair. 10
2006 item in Lighting&Sound International
about Pépin being contracted to produce a spectacular for Sentosa, and being an artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Committee, in company with Steven Spielberg, Zhang Yimou, and Ric Birch.

announcing creative advisers on the 2008 Beijing Olympic team, including Yves Pépin. 12
Item with photo in the Times of India
about Yves Pépin and the Akshardam water show. 13
2009 item in Projection Lighting Staging News
about the "Blue Note Mystery" show created by Yves Pépin for Futuroscope Park in Poitiers, France. 14
2018 article by attractions industry expert Judith Rubin, published by InPark Magazine
about Yves Pépin's career, contributions, background and legacy, with details of noteworthy projects and testimonials from colleagues.

External links

*Yves Pépi
official website
*Getty Image
photo and video documentation
of Yves Pépin and his work over the years
ECA2 Official Website
*Yves Pépi
official listing in TEA Member Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepin, Yves French artists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Bordeaux