Dressing up the Obelisk for the opening of the Football World Cup in 1998, Paris

Ho, Moussa, Pablo and Romeo, four articulated giants, each weighing thirty tonnes, representing “the four major races of humanity”. For the world cup 98 opening ceremony in France, they converged at Place de la Concorde where a replica of the world cup had been built around the obelisk. This project was staged by Jean-Pascal Levy-Trumet. The metallic structure forming the replica of the world cup is designed in memory of the work of the Russian engineer Vladimir Grigorievitch Choukhov (1853-1939) famous for his pioneering work in designing and building the first hyperbolic paraboloid structures. The analysis of the behaviour of the structure and how it was to be put in place was performed with Mr. David Chambolle Partner engineer, Mr. Christian Lapeyre Chief Engineer at Bureau Veritas and Mr. Martin Veith Architect and scenographer.