45th independence anniversary celebrations at Stade Anjalay

Hi! As you can guess, I was at the Anjalay Coopen stadium for the traditional flag raising ceremony under the theme of “Ene pays, ene nation, ene destin…” with the following logo which won Rs100, 000. I won’t be long since for the past 2 hours, I’ve been editing the pictures for this post. No captions for pictures right now, perhaps I’ll add them later on.

My comments about this evening

Stade Anjalay cannot accommodate all the people. The police had to close down all entries to the stadium at a point in time. The huge growing crowds were angry at the doors and they blocked the doors to vehicle access inside the stadium. They are not to be blamed; the authorities have been inviting Mauritians for the past days lol. The police finally allowed them to enter and most of them were placed behind the two large screens, behind which the space was not used. But shortly after the ceremony started, the host asked the people to move from there because they can be electrocuted by the screens, which at the same time could not be used until the area was safe. All of them (probably 1/5 of the whole people at the ceremony) were moved under high security to prevent anyone entering the show area.

The show itself was ok, nothing extraordinary as compared to the ones I assisted in Champs de Mars. At least there in Port Louis, there was no crowd rush like those ones today. btw, that’s the first time I have seen so much people at one place!!! Finally, I left the place just after the closing parade and did not follow the rest of the programme, not even on TV.

Happy 45th Independence day and 21st anniversary of the Republic of Mauritius to all!

Who was there too? How did you find the show?

Pictures:

Police opening one of the gates to allow people in:

Once inside the stadium; the covered part for the luckier ones:

To my right; Notice the coloring of the “gradin”:

One of the two screens behind which access was (initially) restricted:

Hiding from the burning sun:

Police removing security bars to allow more space for people:

The Rs100, 000 worth logo:

Most probably, the organising event company:

The “mascotte” which was dancing:

Just showing – Tablet Photography:

MBC Videography:

High security

Blocking access to prevent people from entering the stadium which was (nearly) full:

^^ In case you are wondering, that’s me above ^^

Proudly showing his flag:

Showing the flag… in all ways…

Finally, allowing people to get into this part of the stadium:

Removing the flag banners all round the “gradins”:

High security, not for the show but to prevent people from entering the show area;

People officially allowed to sit in the un-used space behind the screens:

The opening parade:

MBC blocking my view grrrrrrrr:

The PM arriving, some minutes before 6pm:

Followed by the President;

The crowd growing everywhere:

Stupidity in its simplest form:

Arrival of the guest, The President of India, for the national celebrations.

Marée humaine:

Flag (middle) raising done. The flag was rolled and did not float as it should be:

And they march in!

As usual, the flag high up in the sky:

The helicopters with Emirates A380 in the far background:

The french vessel, the Transall C-160:

hehe 😛

Getting ready for its show, nothing new as compared to last year:

An Indian heli:

The National Coast Guards:

The A380 flying above the stadium:

Security deployed to move people from behind the screen to the track area:

French parachutes:

First one of them landed:

The second one carried a Mauritian Flag:

Closing Parade:

The stadium at around 7pm:

~ The end ~