BBC News Persian TV is celebrating this year’s Nowruz…
Nowruz is the festival of the spring equinox, marking the beginning of new year in Iran and Afghanistan. The Beeb is marking the festival with a two-hour show centred around the legendary Iranian pop star, Shahram Shabpareh, and featuring Oscar-nominated actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and an international lineup of musical talent. The show also will be part of the BBC News Afghan Languages festive output for audiences in Afghanistan, where Nowruz celebrations have been banned by the Taliban.
Recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre in London in front of an audience of 200 guests, the spectacular Nowruz concert delivers a heartfelt tribute to Shahram Shabpareh. Having announced his retirement from the stage last year, he has left a rich and indelible musical legacy. His songs resonate with fans around the world and continue to inspire new generations of artists. The Beeb Nowruz show features talented, diverse musicians as they perform Shahram’s iconic songs on the corporation’s stage in his presence.
Senior News Editor of Arabic and Persian programmes, Rozita Lotfi:
“At our Nowruz show this year we brought together generations of artists, connecting Shahram’s incredible legacy with the vibrant young voices of today.”
This year’s Nowruz show is hosted by BBC News Persian’s new music team, Misagh Moradi and Hesam Garshasbi. The video tribute introducing Shahram is narrated by Shohreh Aghdashloo – the Oscar-nominated actress renowned for her roles in Hollywood films, as well as Netflix and Amazon series.
Viewers will be treated to performances by Parisa, known by her stage name, Madmazel, who gained popularity in Iran despite the country’s ban on women’s singing, Taraneh Mousavi, whose talent earned her a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, and who will be releasing her debut album later this year.
Mojgan Azimi, an Iranian-born singer-songwriter from Afghanistan who has produced music across genres, Mehran Rakhshandeh, a London-based artist who started his artistic career as a teenager, exploring both music and visual arts, and is now a seasoned live performer on television and at concerts and also Ayda Rastgoo, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter and pianist, recognised as the youngest artist of this year’s Nowruz show, who has released songs in Persian, English and German.
Hazhar Mahmoud, a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist with a Kurdish Iraqi background, who performed as a singer with the Iranian pop-rock band, Black Cats, and was invited to join Shahram Shabpareh on his farewell tour around the world and Abdul and Celestino, Italian musicians who have played a crucial role in bringing Shahram Shabpareh’s music to Italy and whose cover of the hit song “Parya” became a viral sensation, bringing to the fore their unique sound.
The BBC Persian’s Nowruz show will delight viewers with Shohreh Aghdashloo’s reading from the classical poet Hafez – an essential part of the Persian new year tradition. Shohreh also delivers the traditional Wish – or new year’s resolution – in her inimitable, modernistic style.
The Nowruz show will be available on BBC News Persian TV from 8am GMT tomorrow (Thursday 20 March) and on the BBC News Persian YouTube channel. Clips from the programme will feature on the BBC News Persian social-media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, and X.
The BBC News Persian celebration of Nowruz will also feature on the BBC News Afghan Languages network which delivers content in Dari, Pashto and Uzbek. As part of the service’s own Nowruz programming, correspondent Haseeb Amar will report from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, talking to families about their Nowruz preparations, and the status of the Blue Mosque, Ziarat Sakhi, which was at the centre of Nowruz celebrations before they were banned by the Taliban.
On Friday 21 March, the BBC’s Afghan Languages service will bring stories from people across Afghanistan about their day of Nowruz celebration. The weekly women’s programme – Mermen in Pashto and Zan in Dari – will talk to its audience about the year they are leaving behind, their wishes and aspirations for the new year.
The festive edition of the weekly Uzbek-language TV programme Meras (Heritage) will focus on the renowned Afghan Uzbek singer, the late Mullo Taj Muhammad Saripuli, and the way the special Nowruz dish, the sweet paste made from germinated wheat – called “sumalak” in Uzbek – is prepared in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley.
BBC News Persian and BBC News Afghan Languages are part of the BBC World Service.
