Eiffel Tower fireworks: 1,600 drones and twelve tableaux tonight in Paris

The July 13, 2026 fireworks display is set to illuminate the Eiffel Tower with 1,600 drones and twelve tableaux, preceded by the Concert of Paris at the Champ de Mars. A free evening, with hours adjusted due to the heat wave. Here’s everything you need to know.

The National Day fireworks display will be launched this Monday, July 13, 2026 from the Eiffel Tower, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, above the Champ de Mars lawn. According to the program unveiled by the City of Paris: twelve pyrotechnic tableaux, 1,600 dazzling drones and the Grand Concert of Paris as the opening act. The show remains on, with revised timings and a strengthened safety setup.

Will the July 13, 2026 fireworks display go ahead despite the heatwave?

Yes, and it's the story of the day. The Police Prefecture notes it in a press release: unlike the heatwave in June, which strained health services, conditions this time allow keeping the concert as well as the feu d'artifice.

The authorities have chosen to curb the public’s heat exposure. The site opens at 8 p.m. (instead of 4 p.m. initially), the Concert de Paris starts at 9:45 p.m. (instead of 9 p.m.), and the fireworks display remains slated for 11 p.m. The Police Prefect has also issued an order banning alcohol consumption on the street and in public spaces in the district, while the city’s emergency services are bolstered by a strengthened state mechanism.

Why is the fireworks display held on July 13th instead of July 14th?

The gathering has been moved up by a day, exceptionally. Paris and Nice had announced at the end of May that the festivities would be décalées, in order to give prominence to a day of reflection on the tenth anniversary of the attentat de Nice, which occurred on July 14, 2016 along the Promenade des Anglais and left 86 dead, including 15 minors, and 458 wounded.

The Champs-Élysées military parade, meanwhile, remains firmly scheduled for Tuesday morning, July 14, 2026. Note that, as the official Eiffel Tower site explains, the monument will be closed to the public on July 13 to allow for fireworks preparations.

Paris Concert, 1,600 drones: tonight's program

The evening is hosted by Stéphane Bern and broadcast on France 2 and France Inter from 9:45 p.m., simulcast by the EBU via Eurovision. At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the Orchestre National de France, the Chorus, and the Radio France Maîtrise perform under Daniel Harding’s baton, flanked by soloists such as Gautier Capuçon, Marina Viotti, Jakub Józef Orliński, and Corinne Winters. The Concert de Paris closes with a chorus-led rendition of La Marseillaise, just as the first fireworks flare up.

Twelve tableaux set the pace of the show. Among the segments announced by the town hall:

a segment celebrating the 70-year milestone of the Paris–Rome twinning and the historical ties that bind the two capitals
a tribute to the 400th anniversary of the French Navy
an evocation of the Seine, the throughline of many previous editions

The technique is dizzying: 1,600 ultra-light drones (up from 1,000 last year), fitted with LEDs and 360° diffusers, sweep around the Eiffel Tower. Also added are 120 launch points, more than 80 of them installed on the tower itself, 50 projectors anchored in the structure, and around a hundred technicians and performers involved. In short, the sky over the 7th arrondissement should be buzzing.

Where to watch the July 13, 2026 fireworks in Paris?

Access to the Champ de Mars and to the Trocadéro esplanade remains completely free, and both spots offer the most spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower. With the opening delayed until 8 p.m., plan to bring water, a hat, and a bit of patience: the gates close as soon as capacity is reached. The surroundings of the Bir-Hakeim Bridge and the banks of the Seine remain a solid fallback, with an exit that's less exhausting than wading through the Champ de Mars crowds.

To get ready for the evening, there are several guides at your disposal: the best spots to watch the fireworks, the terraces, rooftops and restaurants with a view, or the comprehensive guide to the fireworks of July 13 and 14, 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France. On how to get around, be sure to check the stations closed for the occasion as well as the traffic and parking restrictions in effect on July 13, 2026. And if the heat swallows your ambitions, you can still enjoy the show from your couch, live on TV.

A campaign to promote the Republic's motto

Alongside the July 13 program, the City of Paris launched in early July a poster campaign to highlight the Republic’s motto, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. Three posters are being rolled out on 1,500 façades across the capital. The mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire says that, as July 14 approaches, he wanted to bring to life "our motto and our republican history" across the entire city, recalling Paris’s special link to the storming of the Bastille and the birth of the Republic. Parisians who wish can freely take one of these posters.

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.