The 25 million LED bulbs on the Illumi site will finally go out on January 7th as the Normand Latourelle team has been unable to reach an agreement with the city of Laval to expand operations on the huge site on the edge of which it is located the A-15 since 2019. In the coming years, the Carré-Laval project, a mixed innovation district, will take place here.
Thus, the 5th edition on Laval soil will be the last, as all “attempts to negotiate” under the term of mayor Stéphane Boyer have not borne fruit.
Photo provided by Cavalia
“My goal in life is to bring a little light and happiness into people’s lives. I see that we have succeeded once again with illumi and it warms our hearts. We are in Laval until January 7th to show off one last time,” Cavalia founder and illumi creator Normand Latourelle said in a press release.
According to the city of Laval, the five-year contract signed with Mr. Latourelle's company ended in May 2024 and it was not possible to identify other locations in Laval for the relocation of Illumi.
It is a structuring project called Carré Laval, which will be partially installed on the site used by Illumi, at least in phase 1. Starting next fall, the city will begin Quebec-funded geotechnical studies to carry out the preparatory work. Carré Laval will include residential and institutional development as well as a large urban park.
Photo provided by illumi
“A beautiful chapter is coming to an end for us. It's been five great years. And it begins a whole new chapter for the development of Carré Laval, a structuring project that will transform the entire sector and bring economic and social benefits,” said the head of public affairs of the city of Laval, Philippe Déry, at the QMI agency.
Under the hot California sun
Illumi's proposal, which his team describes as “the largest multimedia sound and light event in the world” with its 19 paintings, has also traveled to Toronto in the past. She will now travel to Los Angeles, California, to “put down roots,” they say.
In five years, more than two million people have passed through the turnstiles of the Laval site, which has undergone several transformations depending on the different holidays of the year, such as Christmas and Halloween.
According to Cavalia – which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – and illumi, the economic benefits since 2019 are nearly $100 million.
Tickets are available online.