More than 30,000 people on Wednesday evening thronged the Barabati Stadium here to witness a colourful “promotion show” organised as part of the Hockey World Cup now being played at Bhubaneswar. Music composer AR Rahman, who had performed at the inaugural ceremony at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, also enthralled the Cuttack crowd with his scintillating performance.
The Cuttack crowd, however, went euphoric when popular Bollywood star Salman Khan took the stage and addressed the crowd in Odia. Saying it was his first visit to Odisha, he admitted of regretting for not having paid a visit to “this beautiful place” earlier. Like Shah Rukh Khan doing it in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, Salman also lavishly praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the ongoing spectacles in the Twin City for the hockey fever that has gripped the whole country.
Music icon Rahman accompanied by nearly one hundred members of his instrument staffs performed for about one hour, during which he sang three solo songs while his team members sang about a dozen popular numbers.
The hour-long musical show was performed on a huge stage of 70ft x 40ft dimension that was fitted with a huge LED screen. The light and sound arrangements on the stage were unique and the people of the city for the first time witnessed such a huge entertainment show live.
Nearly 70,000 sqft of LED was fitted in the stadium, which beamed the live match of India’s opening encounter against South Africa.