In front of several dozen colleagues and special guests, Paul Arcand presents the latest edition of Puisqu’il faut se lever, the most listened to morning show in the country.
The one nicknamed “the king of the airwaves” is entitled to a deluge of tributes. Facing his colleague Alain Crête, who takes on the role of host for this special program on 98.5, he receives these testimonies with great humility and emotion.
There is an atmosphere of frank camaraderie in the large Cogeco room which has been transformed into a giant studio!
Paul Arcand is leaving daily hosting after 34 years at the helm of a morning show, including 20 years at 98.5.
From the first minutes of the show, around 5:30 a.m., Paul Arcand wanted to make things clear: “I haven’t changed my mind, it’s the last one,” he said. he decided.
When Alain Crête asked him what his first impressions were at the start of the latest show, Paul Arcand was humorous.
“I would like to ask the Montreal Fire Department to let us finish the show. We respect the capacity rules, we have no marquee, so please, everything is under control and everything is happening according to the rules,” he mentioned, referring to a subject that marked his last week of entertainment, namely the closure of the terraces of certain restaurants during the weekend of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
More seriously, he added: “Quite honestly, I don’t like it […] the kind of avalanche of tenderness and affection,” he mentioned, admitting that he would have preferred a normal show , with “a good interview brewing”.
98.5 management has promised that Friday’s show will be filled with tributes, memories and a “multitude of surprises.” It is also recorded in front of an audience.
Even if he leaves daily entertainment, Paul Arcand is not retiring.
Starting next fall, he will collaborate with La Presse, while continuing to offer his famous press review in the form of a podcast available on the 98.5 digital platforms.
It is the journalist and host Patrick Lagacé who will replace him at the helm of the 98.5 morning show at the start of the fall term. The show will be renamed Lagacé le matin.
More details to come.