| Official Jamaica 50 Celebration Highlights Country’s Cultural History |
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Posted: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 3:26 pm
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by Sho Wills
Under the night sky at a packed National Stadium, thousands draped in yellow and green packed the stands to witness a series of performances highlighting Jamaica’s cultural achievements over the last 50 years. The event was the official celebration for Jamaica’s 50th year of independence. On hand were representatives from South Africa, England, Grenada, Trinidad and the United States, including South African President Jacob Zuma and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The show began with an introduction Jamaica’s leaders, Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller; Governor General, Patrick Allen; and Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Holness. The leaders entered the stadium by circling its inner track in an elaborate motorcade before exiting their vehicles and waving to an ecstatic crowd. “I think we’ve done very well on balance our first 50 years,” said Simpson earlier in the day. “Jamaica is more than just the ‘brand’ the world recognizes so well; it’s a place of pride for the people who live here, its educational institutions, its sports achievements, its science and technology growth,” continued Simpson, who herself is part of Jamaican history as the country's first female prime minister.
The stadium show got off to an exciting start with a series of impressive aerial displays. First, the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing conducted a flyover, with five jets coasting over top the stadium to cheers from the crowd. That was followed by a flag raising ceremony in which the flag was flown into the stadium by a helicopter. “It was important to start out by highlighting the armed forces here in Jamaica,” said a spokesperson for the event. “Without the armed forces we never would have won independence.”
The show itself was a medley of performances meant to encapsulate Jamaica’s cultural history. The first musical performance of the night was the song “My Boy Lollipop”, which became the country’s first national hit in 1964 when it was performed by Millie Small. The performance then moved into a series of festival songs and traditional dances. One of the final performances of the night was a dedication to Bob Marley and rastafari movement, born in Jamaica.
The event wound down with a series of performances by Reggae artist, and a dramatic dedication to “speed”. The Reggae performances included acts like Leroy Sibbles, Junior Rebel, Tessanne Chin and Romain Virgo. In a dramatic dedication to the concept “speed” a series of Jamaican athletes performed in the center of the stadium while racing cars sped around its outer track, and the highlights from Jamaican runners were played on the stadiums 20 foot screen. Over the years Jamaica has developed reputation for speed based on its history of producing some of the world's best sprinters, like Usain Bolts gold - who won the gold medal in the men's 100 meters in the Olympics a day earlier.
The show concluded with a signing of, “One Love” by Bob Marley. The song was sung on stage by Romain Virgo and Tessanne Chin, however in demonstration of solidarity and emotion the crowd nearly drowned out the two crooners as thousands of Jamaicans roared out the lyrics to the country's most famous song in unison. |
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