Multicultural extravaganza, flag raising to celebrate T&T's 50th anniversary of Independence

A nation is born - the Union Jack comes down to mark the end of colonial rule and the independence of Trinidad & Tobago

The Government of Trinidad & Tobago is planning a major event to celebrate the country's 50th anniversary of independence with a Gala beginning at 5.30 on the afternoon of August 30 and ending the next day.

The event will include a midnight re-enactment of the lowering of the British Union Jack and the hoisting of the Trinidad & Tobago national flag at the same site at the Red House where it happened on August 31, 1962.

The flag for the event is to be taken through various parts of the country before arriving at the Red House venue for the ceremony. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is listed to deliver an address. President Max Richards is also listed to speak.

The event would feature a multicultural extravaganza that would include a two-hour performance by Machel Montano. Several top artistes representing the country's cultural mosaic are also listed to perform at the concert in Woodford Square.

The event on independence day 1962 was also the birth of television in Trinidad & Tobago, with Trinidad & Tobago Television (ttt) broadcasting the historic event live. The event would be broadcast live 50 years later by CNMG, the successor organisation to ttt and its various incarnations.