Beirut (AFP)

Combining classical music and Lebanese chants, a concert will be held Sunday evening in the gardens of a historic Beirut palace devastated by the explosion at the port, a tribute to the victims of the tragedy of the Lebanese with "broken hearts".

The concert, broadcast live by local channels and on social networks, is the first to be held in the Lebanese capital since the August 4 explosion which left more than 190 dead and 6,500 injured.

"To be able to mourn (...) it was important to have this moment of music, poems, words", explains to AFP the artistic director of the event, Jean-Louis Mainguy.

The organizers called on the Beirutis to light a candle at their window as a sign of solidarity.

The concert is held in the gardens of the Sursock-Cochrane Palace, an architectural gem of the 19th century, in one of the neighborhoods devastated by the blast.

This choice "is not only symbolic at the level of the national heritage but also symbolic because of the scars of the explosion which it carries", specified Mr. Mainguy, evoking an interior "largely devastated".

The concert was supposed to be held at the port, but after fires in this area, the venue was changed due to air pollution.

Some 250 choristers from all over Lebanon take part in the evening, accompanied by an orchestra of about thirty musicians, according to the cultural collective #RecollectBeirut which organizes the event.

The concert began with a cover of the ode to the Lebanese capital "Li Beirut", by Fairouz, the last living legend of Arab song.

Also on the program, a "virtual participation" of several Lebanese artists, in particular the singer Tania Saleh.

"It is a kind of musical mosaic which starts from the religious towards the traditional, towards the Lebanese, from the classical towards the oriental," said Mr. Mainguy.

The explosion devastated historic districts where palaces and buildings with typical Beirut architecture are nestled.

Before the explosion, the Sursock-Cochrane Palace was a real "museum", told AFP Georges Boustany, an activist specializing in heritage preservation.

"There were objects that come from all over the world. Italian canvases, Dutch tapestries, we are talking about the 16th and 17th centuries (...) and all of this suffered considerable damage."

"More than 40 days after the August 4 tragedy, the wound is still gaping, the pain is deep, the anger is immense and our hearts are broken," the prestigious Baalbeck festival said on Instagram, sharing the event.

A virtual concert organized by Mika, a famous singer of Lebanese origin, was held on Saturday to raise funds for the city.

© 2020 AFP