The facade of Centre Pompidou's modern and contemporary art collection is seen with a pyrotechnic mural made by the artist Cai Guoqiang during Le Dernier Carnaval show, in Paris on October 22, 2025. The show is part of a farewell event honoring the Centre Pompidou before its closure for a five-year renovation period. Photo: VCG

Chinese firework artist Cai Guoqiang on Wednesday local time staged a daytime firework show named "The Last Carnival" at the iconic Centre Pompidou in Paris. The show prompted mixed reactions after Cai's controversial firework display in Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

The new display in Paris of colored gunpowder unfolded in three explosive acts: The Banquet, The Dawn of AI, and The Last Carnival. Conceived using Cai's custom AI model, cAI™, the fleeting fresco represented the Pompidou's gaze toward the future, according to industry news outlet ARTnews. 

The show is said to be part of a farewell event honoring the Centre Pompidou before its closure for a five-year renovation period.

Some people cheered over the show, describing it as beautiful, splendid or breathtaking. Some others left comments such as they could have used light and music, but instead left black smoke everywhere. 

"Surprised no one is talking about the Arcterys [Arc'teryx] fiasco that happened just a few weeks ago in collaboration with this artist," wrote one Ins user. 

According to China News Agency, Art Basel Paris cancelled an event called "Igniting new horizons: Cai Guoqiang and the Foundation Cartier" scheduled for Thursday following the Centre Pompidou show. 

The show took place roughly one month after his controversial firework show at the ecologically sensitive Himalaya Mountains, which led to Cai's studio and multiple officials in Gyangze County of Xigaze, Xizang Autonomous Region being held accountable. 

Arc'teryx, as a sponsor of the event, will also bear corresponding legal responsibilities for environmental damage compensation and ecological restoration, according to an investigation report released on October 15.

Global Times