Cognac, France

September 25, 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic gradually stabilizes and the world restores its energy, Cai Guo-Qiang’s daytime explosion event, The Birth of Tragedy, will be brought to a worldwide audience from Charente in Cognac, France via livestream on September 25th at 3 PM CET / 9AM EDT. Twenty thousand shots of fireworks will be launched from 150 oak barrels floating on the river, to honor the universal values of resilience, courage, and hope, and to demonstrate mankind’s heroic faith in life and power after a strenuous feat.

The Birth of Tragedy was commissioned as part of “A World Odyssey,” which marks Hennessy X.O’s 150th anniversary. Cai’s daytime fireworks use exclusively non-toxic, eco-conscious, CE-certified pyrotechnic products.

Photo by Simon Cassanas, courtesy Hennessy