Moulin Rouge Celebrates 137 Years: Seven Records and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Cabaret

On October 6, the Moulin Rouge marked its 137th anniversary. The iconic Parisian cabaret, located at 82 boulevard de Clichy, 75018, holds the title of the world's largest private consumer of champagne, uncorking 240,000 bottles annually. Its wardrobe department maintains 1,000 stage costumes, with each of the approximately sixty performers wearing between 10 and 13 outfits per show. From 1929 until its closure in 1980, the venue operated as Europe's second-largest cinema, with 2,400 seats and a balcony raised by 1.85 meters, screening works by directors such as Pierre Colombier, Alfred Hitchcock, and Sergio Leone. A longstanding tradition dictates that every revue title begins with the letter F, a practice initiated by the 1963 success of Frou-Frou and continued with Frisson, Fantastic, Femmes, femmes, femmes, and the current Féerie, running since December 1999. The rooftop Bar à Bulles offers a festive space beneath the Moulin's wings, resonating with the French cancan from below. Each year, the Maison Février, founded in 1929 and acquired by the cabaret in 2009, processes two tons of ostrich feathers to maintain the Féerie costumes. For the production, the Maison Clairvoy, the show's bootmaker since 1945, crafted 800 pairs of custom shoes, sizes 37 to 47. The troupe now comprises 95 artists from 18 countries, recently united under the Janet Pharaoh Dance Company. Performances of Féerie take place nightly at 9 PM and 11 PM, with access via Métro Blanche (line 2).