New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Almost a year to the day since 90 music lovers were gunned down by jihadists inside the Bataclan concert hall, the venue reopened on Saturday with the owners saying the show must go on.
Concert goers returned to the Bataclan music hall in Paris on Saturday night for the first time since last November's Paris terror attacks.
The venue opened its doors for a concert by British rocker Sting, the first musician to take to the stage since Eagles of Death Metal, whose gig was targeted by jihadist gunmen, wearing suicide vests.
The took place amid tight security with a huge area around the venue cordoned off. There was also a huge media presence outside the venue.
Families of the victims and those who were there on the night of the attack to watch the Eagles of Death Metal, were also invited as special guests as well as fans of the rock star, who came on stage at 9pm.
Sting kicked off the Bataclan's first concert in a year by observing a minute of silence in their memory. "We've got two important things to do tonight," the singer said. "First, to remember and honor those who lost their lives in the attacks a year ago ... and to celebrate the life and the music of this historic venue. ... We shall not forget them."
The venue's VIP area was reserved for survivors and the families of those who were killed there on Nov. 13, 2015.
One survivor, 25-year-old Aurelien Perrin, who lost his friend Nicolas Berthier in the attack, told the Associated Press about his experience that night and what brought him back to the Bataclan.
"I came alone tonight," he said. "It's very emotional, as I keep getting flashbacks of that night. I was standing just there, just the other side of the bar when it happened. Tonight is the first time I've been back here since," he said, adding that he hasn't gone to any bars or movie theaters in the past year.
"I'm here because it's important to finally finish a concert that was never allowed to end. It's for the memory of my friend and for all the 90 people who died," he said.
Though the concert was dedicated to the people lost that night, Sting also made an effort to include those who share the same religion or ethnic background with the terrorists.
French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf joined Sting
French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf joined Sting for An Englishman in New York and Fragile. The set also included Desert Rose, his 1999 hit which featured Arabic lyrics sung by Algerian artist Cheb Mami.
Sting even sang the Arabic expression "Inshallah (God willing)," calling it "a magnificent word." The room applauded but later, Tommy Robinson, a far-right English activist, called the gesture "disrespectful" on Twitter.
Sting closed his set sitting alone on stage with an acoustic guitar, performing a song he had written in memory of James Foley, the journalist killed by Islamic State in Syria in 2014. He told the audience that the song was "for everyone who has lost someone". The lyrics included the line: "Keep my place and the empty chair, somehow I'll be there."
