News - The late Charles Aznavour's 100th birthday celebrated with great pomp in Brussels

A concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the great Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour was held Wednesday in the concert hall of the Brussels Municipality, followed by a solemn reception on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia, informs the embassy of Armenia in Belgium. Among guests were the high-ranking Belgian officials, deputies, members of the European Parliament, high-ranking representatives of the European Commission and EEAS, the diplomatic corps, cultural and artistic figures, heads of Armenian community structures and others. Tigran Balayan, Ambassador to Belgium and the Head of the Mission of Armenia to the European Union, delivered opening remarks. Ambassador Balayan commenced his speech by reading the names of the Armenian hostages illegally held in Azerbaijan, emphasizing that they are deprived of the opportunity to celebrate the Independence Day anniversary. The Ambassador drew parallels between the path taken by the Armenian people and the life of Charles Aznavour, noting that the granting of the citizenship of the Independent Republic of Armenia to the famous Armenian singer and the fact that his family today lives in Armenia is symbolic. This shows that the search of the Armenian people for the homeland is over, because 33 years ago, Armenia regained its independence and has become a full-fledged sovereign member of the United Nations. The opening remarks were followed by the concert entitled "Aznavour 100". Under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and within the “Aznavour 100” project, the Armenian State Jazz Orchestra, with artistic director Davit Melkonyan and singers Gor Sujyan and Inga Arshakyan performed Aznavour's most famous songs in jazz interpretation.  And after the concert, a reception dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Armenia was held.