Thaindian News

Berlin, June 30 (IANS) Celebrating harmony in diversity, the World Culture Festival to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living will kick off here Saturday with 70,000 participants from across the globe in a carnival of dance, music, food and yoga.

The event is being celebrated as a peace festival.

The July 2-3 festival to be held at the Olympic Stadium will see participants from 151 countries. The opening ceremony will start at 10 a.m. local time with a colourful parade having representatives from various countries.

“Thirty years of the Art of Living is a big milestone with many achievements, inspiring us to move forward with greater speed and greater enthusiasm,” said a statement quoting Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

“The dream to make life a celebration and the world a family has materialised and become a reality,” it added.

The city is ready to be part of the multi-cultural congregation as posters of the event can be seen on walls and other public places here.

“I came to know about the festival from a poster near my office. It seems interesting and I am planning to go either on Saturday or Sunday,” said Julia Bosel, a media consultant.

The festival offers a variety of things to the visitors with the World Continents Pavilions showcasing the cultural heritage, food, dance, literature and music of Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and America.

The festival will share the vast cultural heritage of India — the source of yoga — not only by showcasing the benefits of yoga, but also by sharing the beauty and depth of the music, dance and the cuisine of the country.

The Yoga Park will allow participants to experience the powerful impact of yoga as a way to improve physical and mental health as well as to create inner peace.

“Yoga experts of different traditions will share their expertise in conferences and workshops. A unique Yoga Museum will chart the evolution of yoga from ancient sages to its global application in the 21st century,” the organisers said.

Leading dance and music troops from around the globe will mesmerise the audience with dazzling performances during the weekend.

The grand finale Sunday will see an unparalleled concert with 30 pianos and 2,000 guitars as well as a peace meditation exercise.

Besides, there will be performances by African drummers, Bulgarian folk dancers, German choirs and fusion dance and music concerts.

This World Culture Festival concert is part of a world series of intercultural peace concerts, which began with the Brahmnaad concert in New Delhi, India in November 2008.

This concert featured over 1,200 sitar players and entered the Guinness Book of World Records, followed by many other events such as Antarnaad choir in Pune, India which brought together over 2,700 Indian classical singers.

(Richa Sharma can be contacted at richa.s@gmail.com)