Joy Bangla Concert: Musical Tribute to Bangabandhu’s Historic 7 March Speech

Joy Bangla Concert: Musical Tribute to Bangabandhu’s Historic 7 March Speech

On 7 March 2016, Young Bangla, the youth platform of Centre for Research and Information (CRI), organized the Joy Bangla concert for the second time to pay rich tribute to the historic 7 March, 1971 speech by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The concert, which sought to inspire the youth with the messages and spirit of the 7 March speech, featuring music by leading bands like Warfaze, Shironamhin, Shunno, Arbovirus, Lalon, Cryptic Fate and Nemesis. Apart from their favourite and hit scores, each of the bands also performed at least one patriotic song from the liberation struggle era of Bangladesh.

The day started with an orchestral rendition of the national anthem, “Amar Shonar Bangla”, by a musical team from the leading performance arts school of the country, Chayanot. In regular intervals of the rocking music, there were other attractions in the event too, namely: a laser show based on the theme of the 7 March speech, fireworks displays and the screening of the historic March 7 speech in colour for the first time ever. Moreover, there was a dramatic performance by the theater group Prachyanat, who recreated the ambience of the historic month of March in 1971. A documentary, based on the success stories of the youth achievers recognized by the Joy Bangla Youth Award 2015, was also screened.

There was around 30,000 people present at the venue, Army Stadium in Dhaka, to witness the event first hand. All tickets were free, requiring online registration only. For those who could not manage passes and tickets, CRI/Young Bangla set up a large screen projector at Dhaka University’s TSC area for watching the event live on TV. They joined the millions across the country who watched the event being telecast live on Channel 9. People could also listen to the concert live on radio through Radio Dhol 94.0 FM. There was also arrangement for people across the globe to enjoy the event live online through the live-streaming services made available in the websites of CRI, Young Bangla, bdnews24.com, banglanews24.com, and live2web.

In order to ensure smooth travel to and from the venue, bus shuttle services were arranged from various strategic locations of Dhaka. Total 7 buses brought in concert goers from such areas as Motijheel, Shahbagh, Science Laboratory intersection, Malibagh, Mirpur, Mohammadpur and Tongi. Hundreds of volunteers from both CRI/Young Bangla and the event management partners were present at the venue for the full duration of the event to ensure the hassle free enjoyment of the people attending. Large number of security personnel from private security firm Aegis Security, Military Police and Dhaka Metropolitan Police were present to ensure full proof security for all.

The event was supported generously by our sponsors, namely: Hamid Group, Orion Group, Confidence Group, Beximco Group, Summit Group, Eastcoast Group, Bangla CAT, Aamra, Meena Bazar and Polar Ice-cream. Daily Ittefaq, Dhaka Tribune, bdnews24.com, banglanesws24.com, Channel 9, Channel 71, Radio Dhol and Radio Shadhin were the media partners of the event. Live2Web provided live-streaming services. Apart from the partners, there was presence of all major media outlets in Bangladesh, both print and electronic, during the concert.

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