Spring sonata at the Taj
Vishal Sharma
Agra. Besides being a tourist hot spot, the Taj Mahal has now also begun drawing artistes from around the globe.
This time, it’s Louis Pearlman, the owner of Transcontinental Companies, US, and former manager of the famous boy-band “Backstreet Boys”, who has brought a block-busting mega concert “8th Wonder of the World” to Agra. It is scheduled to take place on February 25 in the sands behind the Taj Mahal and artistes of international fame whose names are yet to be disclosed.
The show, organised by the “8th Wonder of the World”, founded specifically to increase global awareness for children affected by HIV/AIDS, raising funds for UNICEF and partners through arts and entertainment, is to be held in ten exotic locations of the world every six months till 2010.
Besides the inaugural event at the Taj Mahal, other venues of the concert are the Forbidden City in Beijing; Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Great Pyramid in Cairo, Egypt; Parthenon in Athens, Greece; St Basil Red Square in Moscow, Russia; the Coliseum in Rome, Italy; and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
This fact alone is enough to portray the importance of the Taj Mahal for the show organisers, who have only chosen ten natural and man-made wonders of the world for this event.
This mega concert at the Taj Mahal will be the first such international event to be held in Agra since the “Yanni Concert” in 1997.
According to the show organisers, MTV Asia has agreed to be the media partner for the event, which will be broadcast live across the continent, catering for almost 32 million viewers in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand besides India. 8th Wonder of the World and MTV Asia will continue to secure media partnerships globally to expand the reach of the awareness campaign.
Pearlman’s company Trans Continental Records will help secure artistes for the concert and the proceeds of the concert will be distributed among a number of beneficiaries including YouthAids, an organisation engaged in efforts against HIV/AIDS.
But the Agra authorities are yet to confirm the event’s venue. Talking to Business Standard, DK Burman, joint director, tourism, UP, said the Agra authorities had not yet been informed about the event by the show organisers. He said any event that was held in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal required an affidavit to be filed before the Supreme Court that the event would conform to the pollution norms set by the Supreme Court for such events at the Taj.
Agra. Besides being a tourist hot spot, the Taj Mahal has now also begun drawing artistes from around the globe.
This time, it’s Louis Pearlman, the owner of Transcontinental Companies, US, and former manager of the famous boy-band “Backstreet Boys”, who has brought a block-busting mega concert “8th Wonder of the World” to Agra. It is scheduled to take place on February 25 in the sands behind the Taj Mahal and artistes of international fame whose names are yet to be disclosed.
The show, organised by the “8th Wonder of the World”, founded specifically to increase global awareness for children affected by HIV/AIDS, raising funds for UNICEF and partners through arts and entertainment, is to be held in ten exotic locations of the world every six months till 2010.
Besides the inaugural event at the Taj Mahal, other venues of the concert are the Forbidden City in Beijing; Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Great Pyramid in Cairo, Egypt; Parthenon in Athens, Greece; St Basil Red Square in Moscow, Russia; the Coliseum in Rome, Italy; and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
This fact alone is enough to portray the importance of the Taj Mahal for the show organisers, who have only chosen ten natural and man-made wonders of the world for this event.
This mega concert at the Taj Mahal will be the first such international event to be held in Agra since the “Yanni Concert” in 1997.
According to the show organisers, MTV Asia has agreed to be the media partner for the event, which will be broadcast live across the continent, catering for almost 32 million viewers in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand besides India. 8th Wonder of the World and MTV Asia will continue to secure media partnerships globally to expand the reach of the awareness campaign.
Pearlman’s company Trans Continental Records will help secure artistes for the concert and the proceeds of the concert will be distributed among a number of beneficiaries including YouthAids, an organisation engaged in efforts against HIV/AIDS.
But the Agra authorities are yet to confirm the event’s venue. Talking to Business Standard, DK Burman, joint director, tourism, UP, said the Agra authorities had not yet been informed about the event by the show organisers. He said any event that was held in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal required an affidavit to be filed before the Supreme Court that the event would conform to the pollution norms set by the Supreme Court for such events at the Taj.
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