During this long weekend of Easter 2023, an emblematic festival took place in the pink city, the TOULOUSE TROPICAL BEACH. This annual event was eagerly awaited, especially by the West Indian community in the metropolis, and kept all its promises. Music, dance, show cases, animations, exhibitors’ villages, everything was gathered to spend 3 nights and 2 afternoons of madness !
Organized by André Lami’s BKM EVENT and Josué Charles-Hélène‘s ALL PRESTA COM, the TOULOUSE TROPICAL BEACH festival is the biggest tropical event of the year in France.
Launched more than 20 years ago under its former format “L’EXOTIC BEACH NIGHT” (one single but big night at the time), this institution of the party world has attracted 12,000 festival-goers this year ! A very impressive figure, proving the ever-growing popularity of the “BEACH” and its impact that is passed on from generation to generation.
During 3 nights and 2 afternoons, from Friday, April 7th at 11pm to Monday, April 10th at 6am, the public, who came in great numbers and with a festive spirit, was able to enjoy the sets of fiery DJs, show cases of great quality, attractive animations and the discovery of a village of exhibitors in the complex of the NINE CLUB / ARENA / TERRAZZA / ZAPATA CLUB located in the Sesquières district in Toulouse.
All the rooms were open and communicated with each other so that the festival-goers could easily navigate between the various atmospheres. The organizers had put the accent on the decorations and the accessories in order to create a different universe each evening.
3 nights, 3 themes : Friday “WILD“, Saturday “Caribbean MERMAID” and Sunday “White GLITTER”.
The participants of the TOULOUSE TROPICAL BEACH FESTIVAL were able to enjoy the legendary festive spirit of the ‘BEACH’ and dance-sing to the sounds of shatta, dancehall, bouyon, soca, merengue, zouk, rap and rnb sung by a wide range of DJs. Special mention for the super ambiences of T-FIISH and COSS who literally set the place on fire during these 3 days in all the rooms where they performed. Nearly 25 other talented DJs also played their best sets : MAX’S, CHINWAX, TIIZER, STYLE, TWOFACE, TKRYS, VJLOU, FOXX-T, MADI, MC AMIRAL, MAD, SKELPY, TIXTOX, ELADJI, YANOU, CHALO, CREEKS MX, BRYAN, DABOYZ, TYSON, PHK, MIKE, TITI and KILLERZ.
These DJ shows were interspersed with exceptional animations reinforcing the festive spirit, such as mini shows of dancers wielding flaming sticks and passages of dancers dressed up and wearing stilts.
Each night, around 2 or 3 am, renowned artists performed in showcase in the NINE room. The emerging rapper KIMA with his sidekick Jozii, then the dancehall queen SHANNON have largely assured on stage on Friday night. On Saturday night, before the very good show of the zouk artist KIM, the rapper Lupin arrived on stage with his famous ‘Vespa’ and Ayewai continued to heat up the room with, among others, his banger ‘No Wata’. To finish in beauty, on Sunday evening, it is the super star NINHO who delivered us a performance of high quality, punctuated by his biggest hits.
The room of the NINE was simply ‘full to bursting’, with an ultra hot and peaceful public at the same time. In spite of the very large number of festival-goers, no incident was noted. Thanks to the good spirit and the solid security service engaged by the organizers.
Between the parties, the themed afternoons were also a real success. On Saturday from 2 pm, the semi-final of the contest ‘Choc des DJs’ and the ‘Toulouse Tropical Dance Battle’ took place. In a hyper festive atmosphere, the numerous festival-goers gave strength to their favorite artists. At the approach of 20h, it’s the bluffing and talented dancer NAOMI who obtained the title of winner of the battle.
On Sunday afternoon, the final of the ‘DJ Clash’ allowed emerging artists to perform on stage and test their sets on an encouraging and very responsive crowd. The big winner was chosen by all : DJ TIYOYO, congratulated for his technique, his speed of execution and reaction.
Between the artists’ performances, the festival-goers could discover the exhibitors’ village organized by BKM EVENT and ALL PRESTA COM. The 2 partners called on restaurateurs from the 4 corners of France to offer authentic and high quality food. For example, it was possible to eat excellent bokits thanks to the presence of the Parisian food truck BANM’BOKIT, to enjoy the good dishes of LES DELICES DE CHEZ NOUS, then to taste a gourmet dessert from LOLA SWEET BAKERY.
Among the other stands, Josué Charles-Hélène and André Lami, offered festival-goers the opportunity to purchase TOULOUSE TROPICAL BEACH branded clothing and accessories. This capsule includes hoodies, t-shirts for men and women, snapbacks, caps and tote bags with an eye-catching festive design and attractive prices (from 5 to 50€).
The Toulouse Tropical Beach 2023 was the festival to be at during this long Easter weekend. Coming from the 4 corners of France and even from neighboring countries, the participants lived a crazy experience : near 35 hours of intense party, in a good collective spirit, respectful and sharing. Before the next edition 2024, the organizers plan to offer us some nice surprises, like the extension of the dance battle concept and the development of a website allowing to buy TOULOUSE TROPICAL BEACH merchandise all year long ! Stay tuned, we’ll be sure to provide you with the latest news from BKM EVENT and ALL PRESTA COM.
Credit photo : Boz_picture
