The hall opened on 14 January 2015, with a performance by the Orchestre de Paris of Faure's Requiem, conducted by Paavo Järvi, played to honour the victims of the "Charlie Hebdo" shootings which had taken place in the city a week earlier. It is located in the Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. This sector of the city was also the home of the two brothers who carried out these killings. The opening concert was attended by French President François Hollande, but boycotted by the architect.