From an article by the Ecomedia group, written by Éric Renevier.
You can find the full article at this link (French): https://groupe-ecomedia.com/musique-livepeace-finir-lete-sur-une-note-de-paix/
"The LivePeace festival aims to promote peace in the world through music and concerts. 1st event in Annecy on 21 September 2025 A major concert for peace, with (inter)national headliners and the support of several Nobel Prize winners, in Annecy on 21 September. This is the first major event planned by Live Peace, an association founded by Emmanuel Piegay from Annecy (head office in Paris). A specialist in events management, the 40-year-old is best known for having founded the Corporate Games in 2013, which later became the Company Cup.
" The idea began to take shape in 2021, against a backdrop of rising international tensions. And with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I said to myself: 'No, but we can't just sit back and do nothing! "Music brings everyone together, regardless of age, skin colour, nationality or religion. I thought it would be a good way of promoting the idea of peace throughout the world. Inspired by the great charity concerts - starting with Live Aid, against famine in Ethiopia, just forty years ago - Live Peace is not thinking quite so big for its first edition.
But all the same: by dint of approaches and meetings, Emmanuel Piegay and the volunteers around him (many of whom come from the events or music business) have managed to convince seven Nobel Prize winners to support the initiative. As well as several NGOs and peace associations, such as the International Peace Bureau (based in Geneva, which itself has 400 member organisations around the world) and the Mayors for Peace association, which brings together 8,500 towns in 166 countries.
All told, the organisational budget is close to 250,000 euros. The town of Annecy is making available the Parc Vignières-Pommaries (Annecy-le-Vieux, near the lake), a site that can accommodate up to 10,000 people. Companies (often local) provide technical support: communications, website creation, transport and logistics, control, etc. But the bulk of the funding comes from a private sponsor: the PVG group, which owns the Impérial Palace and its casino.
Olivier Pollet-Villard (PVG group, main funder) and Emmanuel Piegay (Live Peace, organiser) see the Annecy event as the first notes of a larger partiton. Open to amateurs "I've known Emmanuel for several years. When he told me about this project - by chance, one Sunday morning in the bakery! - I immediately thought it was a great idea. By supporting the project, we [Groupe PVG] are fulfilling our mission of promoting the local area [this is one of the clauses in the specifications for operating the casino, editor's note].
The concert is scheduled for 21 September. This is because the United Nations has declared it the International Day of Peace since 1981. But it's also a nod to the Fête de la Musique, organised at the other end of the summer: the event, which will be free of charge, would like to be driven by the same popular impetus.
Its ambition is to make room for amateur musicians (who will open for the "pros" at this concert in Annecy) but also to be taken up as widely as possible, in France and around the world. The Live Peace concert in Annecy should therefore be seen as an introductory solo. But the aim is to move up to orchestral level in subsequent years, in Europe and beyond.
To achieve this, Live Peace is looking for financial and/or technical support. To make a donation, provide logistical support, join the Annecy-based organisation, broadcast the event or organise an event under the Live Peace banner, go to live-peace.com . And the association is also calling on people to relay the hashtag #WeWantPeace on social networks."
