Israel celebrated in Times Square for its 70th birthday
i24NEWS ·
Live from Times Square for i24NEWS: "What an incredible show tonight in the heart of Manhattan." For the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel's independence, "it is a historic event": apart from New Year's Eve, it is the first time the square has been privatized to celebrate a country. After a day-long parade on Fifth Avenue, where more than 40,000 participants marched in front of tens of thousands of tourists and New Yorkers, the highlight is a two-hour sound-and-light show. All the illuminated billboards, usually used for advertising, were rented for millions of dollars to broadcast a film on Israel's history, its past, present and future, its technological advances and its contributions to the world, followed by a parade of public figures wishing the Jewish state a happy birthday and promoting the unwavering friendship between Israel and the United States, with images of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, as well as Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The event is co-organized by the Consulate of Israel in New York, that is, the Israeli government, with Miri Regev, Minister of Culture and Sport, as co-sponsor, to promote Israeli cinema, arts, literature and music. The national anthems were performed by the legendary Gloria Gaynor for the Americans and, for Israel, by Shiri Maimon, "the first Israeli artist in history to sing in Times Square." With reactions from Shiri Maimon and from Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN: "Israel is not alone." Correspondence by David Benaym on i24NEWS in French, June 4, 2018.