Sting reopens Bataclan after Paris terror attacks

The Bataclan, the music venue where 90 concertgoers were killed in last year’s Paris terror attacks, reopened Saturday with a performance from Sting.

Following a minute of silence, Sting told the audience in French: “We shall not forget them,” about the victims.

His performance came a day before the first anniversary of the Paris terror attacks, which left 130 people dead.

On the night of November 13, 2015, three gunmen entered the Bataclan, the small concert hall and opened fire as the U.S. rock band Eagles of Death Metal performed. It was part of a coordinated series of attacks across Paris, claimed by the ISIS militant group.

The Bataclan had remained closed until Saturday.

Amid tight security, Sting played for over an hour with the concert slowly moving from remembrance to celebration.

The crowd of just under 1,000 people stood in the pit, celebrating life, music and culture over the violence that had become synonymous with the Bataclan.

Sting has said all proceeds from his Saturday show would be donated to Life for Paris and 13 Novembre: Fraternité Verité - organizations supporting the victims of the attacks and their families.

Read: Sting to reopen Bataclan

Family members attend the Bataclan

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Related video Drawing through the pain: A Bataclan survivor's tale

Survivors and family members of those who died in the Bataclan were seated in balconies overlooking the pit. The mood there was far more somber, with many of the seats empty. For some, the idea of attending had simply been too much to contemplate.

One man who did take up the invitation was Georges Salines whose 28-year old daughter Lola was among those killed. But it had been a difficult decision to take, he said.

“I was very emotional and thinking of my daughter all the time because I overlooked the place where she was standing that night. I saw pictures of her taken from this balcony,” he said.

Sting played for just over an hour, with the concert slowly moving from remembrance to celebration.

On Sunday, to mark the anniversary, survivors of the attack will join Eagles of Death Metal for a tribute ceremony, unveiling a plaque in front of the concert hall with the names of the victims.

Since the attacks

The killings – at the Bataclan, cafes and Stade de France, a sports stadium in a Paris suburb – together marked the deadliest of terror attacks in France’s history.

French police stormed the Bataclan that night, which ended with the three terrorists killed during their counterassault.

A forensic scientist works near a Paris cafe on Saturday, November 14, following a series of coordinated attacks in Paris the night before that killed scores of people. ISIS has claimed responsibility.

Police are out in force November 14 near La Belle Equipe, one of the sites of the terror attacks.

Forensic police search for evidence inside the Comptoir Voltaire cafe after the attacks.

Shoes and a bloody shirt lie outside the Bataclan concert hall on November 14. Most of the fatalities occurred at the Bataclan in central Paris.

Security forces evacuate people on Rue Oberkampf near the Bataclan concert hall early on November 14.

Medics evacuate an injured woman on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire near the Bataclan early on November 14.

Police, firefighters and rescue workers secure the area near the Bataclan concert hall on November 14.

A man with blood on his shirt talks on the phone on November 14. He is next to the Bataclan theater, where gunmen shot concertgoers and held hostages until police raided the building.

Police officers patrol the area around Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on November 14.

Police officers patrol Paris' Saint-German neighborhood on November 14.

Victims of the shooting at the Bataclan concert venue in central Paris are evacuated to receive medical treatment on November 14.

A woman is evacuated from the Bataclan theater early on November 14.

Forensics are working in the street of Paris after the terrorist attack on Friday, November 13. The words "horror," "massacre" and "war" peppered the front pages of the country's newspapers, conveying the shell-shocked mood.

Rescuers evacuate an injured person near the Stade de France, one of several sites of attacks November 13 in Paris. Thousands of fans were watching a soccer match between France and Germany when the attacks occurred.

A survivor of the terrorist attack in the Bataclan is assisted following terror attacks, November 13. The violence at the Bataclan, which involved a hostage-taking, resulted in the highest number of casualties of all the attacks.

Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France stadium after the international friendly soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis.

Spectators embrace each other as they stand on the playing field of the Stade de France stadium at the end of a soccer match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on November 13.

A body, covered by a sheet, is seen on the sidewalk outside the Bataclan theater.

Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.

Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theater in Paris on November 13.

A medic tends to a wounded man following the attacks near the Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire.

A woman walks past police and firefighters in the Oberkampf area of Paris.

A riot police officer stands by an ambulance near the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris.

Wounded people are evacuated outside the Bataclan concert hall.

Police secure the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, following explosions during the soccer match between France and Germany.

A wounded man is evacuated from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris.

Spectators gather on the field of the Stade de France after the attacks. Explosions were heard during the soccer match between France and Germany.

French security forces rush in as people are evacuated in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District of Paris.

People leave the Stade de France after explosions were heard near the stadium during a soccer match between France and Germany on Friday. Paris Deputy Mayor Patrick Klugman told CNN President Francois Hollande was at the match and was evacuated at halftime.

Victims lay on the pavement outside a Paris restaurant.

Rescue workers and medics tend to victims at the scene of one of the shootings, a restaurant in the 10th District. Attackers reportedly used AK-47 automatic weapons in separate attacks across Paris, and there were explosions at the Stade de France.

French security forces move people in the area of Rue Bichat in the 10th District. A witness told BFMTV that firefighters were on the scene to treat the injured.

Night of terror: Paris attacks

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The terror attacks shocked Europe.

Most of the 10 men allegedly involved in the Paris terror attacks had entered Europe on fake documents after training in Syria, investigators have said.

The main suspect in the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam, is the only known survivor of a group of men accused of carrying out the Paris attacks last year. He had been Europe’s most wanted man for four months before he was captured in his home town of Brussels in a police raid in March.

Abdeslam has since been held in solitary confinement in a prison in Fleury-Mérogis, Essonne, one of the largest prisons in Europe.

Madison Park contributed to this report.