By Elizabeth Day
(Filed: 26/02/2006)
It is Friday night on the Champs Elysées and I am signing autographs. Three hysterical fans are screaming my name and my bodyguard is trying his hardest to keep them at arm's length. A gaggle of Japanese tourists has gathered round. They are taking photographs of me on their camera phones even though they have no idea who I am.
Within seconds, about 40 passers-by have slowed down to gawp at what is going on. One obstreperous Frenchwoman has come to a complete halt to stare at me. "Who is she," she asks persistently of the growing crowd. "Excuse me madame, who are you?"
Elizabeth Day gets a taste of the celebrity lifestyle
It should be self-explanatory. For one night only, I have become a celebrity and, to be a celebrity in the 21st century, no-one really needs know who I am.
The non-famous, once referred to disparagingly as "civilians" by Elizabeth Hurley, can now pretend that they are on the front line of stardom thanks to an organisation that provides all the accoutrements of fame for slightly longer than 15 minutes. Soirée de Star, literally Evening of a Star, offers a range of packages for those who wish to be treated as achievers, without having to go to all the bother of actually achieving.
For a mere €299 (£203), you can enjoy the basic privileges of an average E-lister in the "Red Carpet" package: a chauffeur-driven car, a bodyguard, a security van and a VIP reservation at one of Paris's top nightspots. This would probably be on a par with the lifestyle of someone voted off Big Brother in the first week.
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