Gala concert "Europe in Belgrade" held to mark 200th anniversary of First Serbian Uprising

Belgrade, Feb 17, 2004 - A gala concert "Europe in Belgrade" was held on the evening of Feb 15 in a packed grand hall of the Sava Centre, marking the 200th anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising and creation of the modern Serbian state. Serbian Prime Minister and President of the Committee for Jubilee Celebration Zoran Zivkovic greeted the audience.

In the opening speech, Prime Minister Zivkovic said that the development of the education, science, culture and art, which are main components of a modern state, must be continued intensively and that that is an obligation of all those living in the state for which distinguished Serbian warriors, scientists and educators fought, prayed an worked for. Prime Minister Zivkovic named only some of them, including Serbian rulers Vozd Karadjorjde and Prince Milos Obrenovic, Serbian leaders during World War One Zivojin Misic and Radomir Putnik, educators Vuk Karadzic and Dositej Obradovic, scientists Nikola Tesla and Mihajilo Pupin, statesmen Nikola Pasic and Zoran Djindjic and poets Djura Jaksic and Branko Radicevic.

He recalled that in World War One alone Serbia lost fourth of its population fighting for a state for which it was then thought that would reunite entire Serbian nation, a state that will provide stable conditions for life and work, for welfare offered by the 20th century.

The same happened in World War Two, Zivkovic said. Serbia has still not recovered from these losses, and the situation has been additionally aggravated by senseless civil wars during the 1990s.

The concert symbolically gathered 200 instrumental artists and 200 singers mainly from the countries that were important participants in Serbia's history: Turkey, Russia, Austria, and Hungary. Beethoven's Eroica opened the concert, followed by works of Glinka, Stevan Mokranjac, Josif Marinkovic, Tcaikovsky, Rossini, Puccini, Bizet and others.