Lebanon holds charity concert for victims of Beirut explosion

BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday held a concert for the victims of last month’s deadly Beirut blast in the grounds of a 19th-century palace wrecked by the massive explosion.

“To be able to mourn, to take the time to really remember, it was important to have this moment of music,” artistic director Jean-louis Mainguy said.

The event was held in the gardens of the Sursock Palace, whose windows, red-tiled roof, ceilings and furniture were ravaged in the blast.

The concert, broadcast on television and streamed online in the late evening, kicked off with a rendition of “Li Beirut,” an ode to the city by famed Lebanese singer Fairouz.

It was set to include virtual contributions from Lebanese artists, as well as the voices of some 250 choir singers from around the country.

Organisers asked Beirut residents to place a lit candle on their balconies and in their windows in commemoration.

The event was initially to be held at the port, but was moved ater the air quality around the site was deemed too poor.

On Saturday night, Mika, a singer of Lebanese origin, headlined another concert streamed online to fundraise ater the blast.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s top Christian cleric took a swipe at leaders of the Shiite community on Sunday for making demands he said were blocking the formation of a new government and causing political paralysis in a nation in deep crisis.

Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al Rai, leader of the Maronite church, did not mention Shiites directly but asked how one sect can demand “a certain ministry.”

Shiite politicians have said they must name the finance minister.

“In what capacity does a sect demand a certain ministry as if it is its own, and obstruct the formation of the government, until it achieves its goals, and so causes political paralysis?” the patriarch of Lebanon’s biggest Christian community said. He said the Taif agreement, a pact that ended the 1975-1990 civil war, did not hand specific ministries to specific sects.