The Champs-Élysées became a major Paris gathering place for New Year's Eve celebrations and midnight illuminations.
The avenue stretches between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, forming one of the most famous ceremonial routes in France. On New Year's Eve, crowds have traditionally gathered there to welcome the new year, with the Arc de Triomphe and surrounding buildings used for light projections or other displays in different years.
The avenue's name comes from the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology. It was extended and landscaped in the seventeenth century under the direction of André Le Nôtre, the gardener associated with Versailles.
A frequent confusion is to call the Arc de Triomphe itself an avenue. The monument stands at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, and the avenue is the public thoroughfare where many spectators gather.