The game musical chairs is popular not only among children. Fair managers also have their fun with it. If there is only one chair, the fastest wins. Or the one with the fattest wallet. At least that's the impression of what's going on right now between Art Basel and Fiac.

Hong Kong, Miami Beach, and Basel - Art Basel has been held in three locations. Soon a new one will be added: Paris. Art Basel's decision contains a lot of explosives. After all, Paris has been Fiac's stomping ground up to now. What's more, Art Basel in Paris is also scheduled to take place in October, and then at Fiac's traditional venue, the Grand Palais in Paris. The French press is on edge, and so is the Fiac exhibition team.

Since 2006, the Fiac has been held annually at the Grand Palais. In addition, the quality of the fair has increased significantly in recent years. It has developed from a rather regionally oriented fair to a fair of international standing. However, Chris Dercon, the artistic director of the Grand Palais, apparently has a different view of the situation. He has launched a call for tenders to award the fairgrounds, unlike in the past. In the end, the board of the Grand Palais gave priority to Art Basel. Priority was given to a candidate that guaranteed a dynamic investment in a competitive market, the board announced. The contract with Art Basel is for a full seven years. Art Basel will be initially held in the temporary Grand Palais Ephemère until the renovation works in the Grand Palais are completed in 2024.

What is amazing is the speed with which the displacement of Fiac has happened. Initial talks between Art Basel and Chris Dercon reportedly occurred as recently as November. In December, the invitation to tender started. And now, in January, the decision has already been made. When it became known that Chris Dercon was launching a tender, Fiac's exhibition team already suspected something was up and tried to prevent the tender by taking legal action. The success failed to materialize. At the same time, the Art Basel fair organizers must have been incredibly active behind the scenes because they had to be sure of the support of the most important international galleries, without whom nothing works.

Why the decision was made in favor of Art Basel has to do, on the one hand, with the many promises that were heard from Switzerland. The Art Basel wants to strengthen the French galleries and demand young artists as well. Music, fashion, and art are to be the core elements of a comprehensive cultural event that radiates throughout Paris.

The question remains as to what will become of the Fiac. The Fiac is now faced with the choice of surely either completely reorganizing or possibly disappearing from the market soon. For the Fiac to choose an alternative venue at the same time makes no strategic sense. It would be a bad ending, but it shows how fierce competition has become.