Today, our country is festooned with flags. Red and green is everywhere you look: lining the streets, on people’s clothes, and painted on children’s faces.
Today, on this day of celebration, we put aside our political differences, and honour our identity as one nation.
The turmoil of this pre-election year has taken its toll. But today, more than 30,000 people will meet at the National Parade Ground, and unite to create the world’s largest human flag.
There can be no more fitting way to celebrate Victory Day – not just because the sight of our flag stirs the procion red of our blood, but also because our greatest resource is, and has always been, our people.
This bold initiative was the brainchild of Robi Axiata. With the support of the army, they were able to quickly spin this dream into reality.
If the attempt is successful it will be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current record is held by Pakistan, at 24,200 participants.
Anticipation
In the lead up to the event, Robi’s Photoschool, in association with Drik’s Shahidul Alam, hosted a red and green themed photography contest.
They launched a website at http://bdworldrecord.com, inviting users to comment and participate in various contests to win tickets to the event.
Visitors to the site can also make a collective flag of their own.
The site features a user-generated 3D digital flag. By clicking the “build the flag” button, people at home can help lift the virtual pieces that make up the flag, which is a proportionate model of the human flag to be created today.
Precision
At the parade grounds, the 30,000 volunteers will stand in formation and hold up their placards, coloured in red or green.
The challenging job goes to those holding the margin pieces, where the red and green meet on the same card. They must stand in exactly the right spot and hold their pieces in exactly the right orientation.
Squares have been carefully chalked out on the parade grounds, and labelled. Each square is numbered, matching the number of its corresponding placard piece.
The human flag will follow the official measurements of the national flag, including the off-centre red circle.
According to the Guinness Record rules, people must hold the flag up for five minutes.
A Guinness-accredited auditor will be present to oversee the attempt in Bangladesh. After successful completion of the event all relevant documents and images will be sent to the Guinness World Record committee for validation.
Participation
“We are really lucky to get a chance to join the squad,” said Masud Parvez, a cheerful college student and volunteer, at the rehearsal on Saturday.
He and 20 of his friends had joined the efforts. It was a matter of pride and joy for them to be a part of history, Masud said.
Around 10,000 spectators can collect free tickets from any Robi customer care centre, and 1,200 tickets will be available at the entrances of the venue today.
Approximately 1,000 guests, celebrities, sportspersons, educationists, businesspersons and other noted individuals have been invited, said Ashikur Rahman, a Robi spokesperson.
Celebration
The programme will start at 10am, with the National Anthem to be sung by Rezwana Chowdhury Bonnya.
At 12pm, the volunteers – mostly school and college students from different academic institutions – will gather to form the human flag. The event will be televised and streamed live on their website http://bdworldrecord.com. Aerial views will come from the helicopter brought in to capture the big moment.
There will be a concert on the grounds immediately following the flag formation, featuring Ayub Bachchu and Bappa Mazumder.
Members of the Bangladesh navy, BGB, police, Ansar and the air force will be deployed at the venue to strengthen security.