This Insane Parisian Flash Mob Is The Greatest “Bohemian Rhapsody” Tribute You Will Ever See
If you’re looking for a performance that feels like lightning in a bottle, you’ve just found it. On a summer evening in Paris, the Place de la Contrescarpe was transformed into a pop-up opera house to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It’s already been hailed by critics as “one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed Queen tributes ever recorded”.
The magical event, which took place on July 10, 2025, was the brainchild of pianist and organizer Julien Cohen. Roughly 30 talented musicians and singers powered the nine-minute rendition, preserving the song’s cinematic sweep. The performance bloomed from a hushed piano ballad into a full-blown opera before detonating into its head-banging rock coda.
To bring the song to life in three dimensions, vocalists were stationed in apartment windows overlooking the cobblestones below. As onlookers craned their necks, singers traded “Galileo”s back and forth, turning the entire square into an instrument.
With a fantastic line-up of performers, the show didn’t disappoint. Lead singer Mickey Callisto channelled Freddie Mercury’s swagger as he arrived atop a horse-drawn carriage. And taking on Brian May’s iconic guitar solos was 11-year-old UK prodigy Olly Pearson, who played with incredible poise and fire. Viewers were blown away, with one commenting, “The little guitarist is a rockstar in the making! Blew my mind”.
Cohen’s video of the spectacle, posted to YouTube on September 9, became an instant sensation. And the online community is full of admiration and praise. Fans on YouTube called the performance a “masterpiece of art,” with another commenting that it gave them “goosebumps from start to finish”. It surged past the half-million view mark within just 24 hours, proving how a meticulously staged flash mob can still capture the world’s attention.
As the final chords rang out, the crowd erupted, with strangers grinning at one another in a rare public moment where shared surprise becomes shared joy. The clip’s rapid spread online mirrored the scene in the square, with voices joining from every direction until it felt like the whole city was singing along.