AtaraxiaBorn and raised in Toulouse, we had to attend at least once the now-legendary concert in the Pink City: Big Flo and Oli at the Stadium.
Where all the football matches take place in one of France’s largest cities, the two Toulouse-born brothers and rappers once again conquered the stadium of their hometown to deliver a show of rare magnitude in Toulouse.
A Look Back at the 2023 Festival Rose
The Festival Rose is the only large-scale music festival in Toulouse that now returns every year, initiated by the rising stars of French rap, Big Flo and Oli, two brothers from the Minimes neighborhood in Toulouse. The festival, adorned in the colors of the Pink City, has garnered great interest from fans and last year featured big names in modern Francophone music, such as Angèle, Petit Biscuit, SCH, and rising stars like Carbonne, Laucarré, and Warend. Naturally, the two Toulouse brothers also secure a spot at their own festival, and during the 2023 edition, to the great surprise of all spectators, especially all Toulousians, Big Flo and Oli announced they would be returning to the Stadium, five years after their first concert at the Toulouse football stadium.
A Spectacle at the Stadium, June 8 and 9, 2024
So, on Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9, the two brothers had the chance to fulfill one of their biggest dreams again and sing in front of 60,000 people at the Toulouse Stadium. And let’s just say that between the album reviews, backstage tattoos, drones, and non-stop jokes, this XXL show was not to be missed.
For the opening acts on Saturday: nothing less than Carbonne (who had already participated in the Festival Rose last year) and Olympe Chabert. And on Sunday, the famous Olympe took the stage again, this time followed not by Carbonne but by Danyl.
Unfortunately, not attending Saturday night’s concert, we missed Carbonne’s performance on stage. However, having attended last year’s Festival Rose, Carbonne was not unknown to us and had already made an impression at the festival.
Olympe Chabert, in a much less rap-oriented style than her two counterparts who followed her as the opening act for BF and Oli, was an excellent discovery. With an angelic voice, powerful lyrics, and catchy songs, I even saw each of my companions on the verge of tears when certain lyrics spoke to them (perhaps a bit too much). However, Olympe doesn’t only have sad songs and truly captivated the audience, drawing them into her world during her time on stage.
As for Danyl, he was also very strong during his performance. He managed to captivate the audience’s attention, already prepared by Olympe, and even got the youngest in the crowd involved. A 14-year-old boy in front of us repeatedly said that Danyl’s songs were “bangers” and that he wanted to see the artist in concert again.
After this more than successful opening act, we eagerly awaited the Toulouse brothers, who exceeded our expectations and used the stadium and the Toulouse sky as a theater stage where we witnessed a magnificent 100% Toulouse show.
As night fell, hundreds of drones flew overhead, displaying a stadium jersey with “Big Flo” or “Oli” written in large letters, visible throughout almost the entire city.
The two brothers offered us a magnificent show where they took a little trip down memory lane. Going from their first albums to their most famous songs, they took the entire audience on a time-traveling journey. And what can be said about the tribute to their grandparents in their song “José et Amar”? With a lit candle and Big Flo’s tears, it’s no wonder the entire stadium was teary-eyed.
During their song “Sur la Lune,” we were treated to a real giant moon that crossed the stadium—a stunning performance that dazzled both young and old.
With the distribution of light-up bracelets at the entrance, the stadium became a replica of a sky with a thousand (or 30,000) stars. The duo didn’t stop making us laugh with their jokes and amaze us with their musical performance and Oli’s rapid-fire delivery.
A special mention goes to their mother, who is battling cancer and was able to attend on Sunday to see her sons on stage. Their tribute to her was very moving and nearly brought tears to my eyes. Not to mention the song “Papa,” sung live with their father, and other parts where we could see their dad sing along.
They managed to fascinate us with the “Toulouse quarter-hour,” where we saw several 100% Toulouse artists perform on stage, such as Warend, Zebda, and Don Choa. Later, we were also treated to a feature with Vianney, who came to Toulouse especially for the show.
Finally, on both nights, each time on a different evening, Toulouse rugby stars Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack took the stage, holding the trophy in their hands.
And since the brothers never do things halfway, as you may have read, Oli got a tattoo on Saturday night—a stadium on his arm to forever mark their time on stage.
Finally, at the end of the concert, we were treated to a fireworks display to close out the magnificent spectacle that was “Big Flo et Oli (Re)font le Stadium.”
If you didn’t get the chance to see them, I’m sincerely sorry, but you can still get your tickets for the Festival Rose 2024, which will take place from August 29 to September 1, 2024, at the MEET in Toulouse.
