Marseilles to host F1 Live Festival over French GP weekend

Formula 1 bosses have confirmed details of the latest F1 Festival which will be hosted by the French city of Marseilles next week.

It follows the success of similar events that have been staged in London and Shanghai in the past year.

The festival will take place over the same weekend as the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix de France 2018 at the Circuit Paul Ricard. It's the first time the country has hosted an F1 race since 2008.

There will be a live stream of each stage of the Grand Prix for fans to keep up to date with all the latest action.

The idea is to open up the sport for new and existing fans alike. The public event will be free to attend.

The F1 Park will be located on Marseille’s waterfront and will be open all weekend. Meanwhile the F1 'House' is being pitched as "the unmissable VIP destination within Marseille" and will take place at Sport Beach on Saturday and Sunday.

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There will be an F1 Live car run on Friday 22 June with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing ambassador and Channel 4 commentator David Coulthard at the wheel of a Red Bull RB7.

Former French racing driver Franck Montagny will also be in action in the cockpit of a 2012 Renault E20, with the event celebrating Renault’s 120th anniversary.

The Renault Passion Parade will provide a fitting tribute to the iconic French car manufacturer. There will be 14 historic cars taking to the streets in a display of Renault through the ages.

Music will also be a big part of the celebrations. Confirmed DJs include DJ Benjamin Baron and Sylvian Armand on Friday, Lorenzo Ausilia, DJ Stef Sibalo and Watermat on Saturday, and Nico de Andrea and DJ Alex Wat on Sunday.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.