News story: Joint Concert by British and Armenian Military Bands in Yerevan

On June 23, The Salamanca Band and the Bugles of The Rifles of the UK Ministry of Defence performed a joint concert with the Honour Guard Unit and the Military Band of the General Staff of the Armenia Ministry of Defence at Freedom Square in Yerevan, Armenia.

The UK and Armenia Ministries of Defence organised the concert as part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations Garen Nazarian and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Armenia Judith Farnworth attended the event.

Ambassador Farnworth mentioned in her opening remarks:

Over the last 25 years the United Kingdom and the Republic of Armenia have developed strong partnerships in a range of areas – political, economic, commercial, cultural, and, of course, defence. The UK is committed to building on these strong foundations by further developing our cooperation for the benefit of Armenia and the United Kingdom.

The Deputy Foreign Minister Garen Nazarian said:

Not incidentally, we are commencing the celebrations with a cultural event. These type of events are aimed at promoting mutual understanding and increasing contacts between our societies.

Mr Nazarian also underlined that the two countries cooperate successfully in the bilateral and multilateral formats, focusing on the challenges threatening the international community and the issues related to addressing them. He expressed hope that the positive dynamics of close cooperation will be maintained through joint efforts and the interstate dialogue will be raised to a qualitatively new level.

The sight of the two military bands drew large crowds of appreciative onlookers who enjoyed the performance of classic and popular British and Armenian tunes.

Besides this concert, the British military band also performed at the Yerevan State Conservatory and during the Queen’s Birthday Party in Armenia.

Visit the British Embassy Yerevan’s Facebook page for more photos of the Salamanca’s performances in Armenia.