Special moments of 'Joy Bangla' concert to be screened with virtual celebrations

Alternative Rock Band Shunno and Heavy Metal Band Cryptic Fate who performed in Joy Bangla Concert in previous years are paying tribute to the event online since the concert is put to a halt this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

"We will release a song virtually aligned with Joy Bangla Concert. We will also present a visual highlighting the best moments of our performances in the previous years starting from 2015," said Emil of the Band Shunno.

Emil Joy Bangla Concert, based on the theme of the Father of the Nation's historic March 7 speech, is the first of its kind in the country as no other event blended history with music so adeptly and for so many years.

"Thanks to Centre for Research & Information (CRI), this concert is connecting youths with the country's glorious past. Their selection of bands and the choice of environment won every heart," he said.

Another band Cryptic Fate also took to their official Facebook page, writing, "Here's an acoustic, raw rendition of Cholo Bangladesh to celebrate the Joy Bangla concerts on 7th March and 50 years of Bangladesh!"

They performed the song in addition to expressing their emotion rolling with the concert that bridged history with music.

This year the concert is put to a halt as the Coronavirus pandemic hasn't yet been fully eradicated. But, it will grow "bigger and louder" the next year, said Radwan Mujib Siddiq, a trustee of CRI, a non-profit research organisation.

To compensate for the halt of the event, there will be some virtual programs, said the organizers.

A short audiovisual highlighting the best moments of the concert in last years will be screened on the Facebook page of Young Bangla. It will also be relayed from the Facebook pages of different media outlets on the evening of March 7.

Besides, two interactive discussions with representatives from the bands, which performed regularly in the concert, and from the organizers will be aired on Channel 24 at 8:30 pm and Gaan Bangla at 8:00 pm on the same day.

Rolled out in 2015, Joy Bangla Concert has been a household name in the country's music industry and a part of the youth pop culture, blending the patriotic melodies composed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh with the western-influenced modern songs.

In successive years, the country's biggest concert for youths added some special features such as presenting the colored version of the speech in 2016.

Later, in 2020, the audience had a hard time believing their eyes when it saw the father of nation coming alive the same way he did 50 years ago in front of a sea of people, delivering his best speech that is now recognized by the United Nations as the memory of the World. The holographic visual was too hard to separate from reality.

The hologram display at the concert began with Bangabandhu's two daughters -- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana -- appearing before the audience in hologram form and sharing memories of their father's historic speech. 

The PM's hologram also recited a poem.

Another surprise in the last year was the appearance as an audience of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana as a surprise.