Bravo! What a concert! Further below, you can find video links.
First, Bambi would like to thank all those who kindly informed her about this event.
Second, here is a quick historic description of this famous International Lebanese Festival, which exists since 1956 (its activities suspended for 22 years in the Lebanese Civil War): http://www.baalbeck.org.lb/history/
Third, the Baalbeck Festival offered this concert this afternoon (9 PM Lebanon time), which was broadcasted on all the Lebanese and regional TV stations whilst being live-streamed on social media. The purpose of the latter was to spread a message of “cultural resilience, unity and hope“, to use the words of the festival President, Ms. Nayla De Freige.
The concert, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the “Greater Lebanon” in 1920 (two decades before today’s modern country), was overseen by Mr. Harout Fazlian, the artistic director/conductor. The concert featured the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra, the choirs of Notre Dame and Antonine Universities, as well as the music group Qolo Atiqo. The musicians and singers offered their services for free in a joint effort to revive Lebanon’s cultural sector.
As the Baalbeck festival’s president De Freige explained to Arab News, “the festival committee worked with the minister of health to guarantee the necessary physical distancing to protect the 150 participants on the stage. They will be standing 1.5 meters apart, in the middle of the Temple of Bacchus, where there are usually 700 spectators” (https://www.arabnews.com/node/1699656/world).
Bambi is lucky because she had the opportunity to visit the Temple of Bacchus (part of the Baalbeck temple complex) where the concert took place.
Indeed, thanks to her dad, she visited this magnificent temple, which was likely commissioned by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. AD 138-161). She was 20 years old at the time. It was her first trip from Canada back to Lebanon where she spent two beautiful months, discovering her birth country for the first time (she left it at age 17, four months before the end of war).
At the time they visited this beautiful region, an Israeli air raid had just happened there. Not an optimal timing for tourism ?. Anyhow, at one point, the two deer stopped the car to videotape and take pictures of a beautiful valley, surrounded by a chain of mountains. Bambi recalls how a militia young man came to talk to them, wanting to confiscate their cameras, as they arrived a few moments post-raid. Her dad told him that he brought his daughter, visiting from Canada, all the way from Beirut to show her this beauty. It would be a shame not to take any picture/video. Well, the guy replied: “Wow Canada, I love this country… OK I will say welcome to your daughter. I will not confiscate anything but please do not tape here” (pointing to a certain direction), “just from here to there” (pointing to another direction). “Please, do not put us in more danger”. Bambi and her dad thanked him, following the instructions ?.
On this funny touristic memory, Bambi will stop now. She is eager to share the concert link, hoping that you will enjoy all this talent. Well done Lebanon!
The first video is very short. The second video presents the full concert, starting at 13:06 minutes, first with the Lebanese national anthem. Enjoy!
