World leaders including Narendra Modi to unwind at western classical music concert during G-20 summit

NEW DELHI: Amidst all the serious discussions on climate change and terrorism, leaders of the world’s top 20 economies, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will get a chance to unwind at a western classical music concert during the G-20 summit in Hamburg.

The world leaders will watch a 90-minute concert on Friday night at the Elbphilharmonie, which is considered one of the best and largest acoustic halls in the world, inaugurated this January after being under construction for almost a decade. Popularly known as the Elphi, the glassy concert hall cost the German government €789 million.

On his way to the concert, Modi will also stop by the ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ Bridge that connects the newly established Hafen City and the imposing Elphi with the Hamburg City Centre.



The bridge was completed at a cost of €12.5 million and inaugurated on Mahatma Gandhi’s 143rd birth anniversary on October 2, 2013. This will perhaps be the first real break for the Indian delegation members as they were advised to exercise maximum caution while moving around in Israel. Jerusalem being a sensitive and security-conscious place, delegates were advised to avoid individual movements and comply with instructions of security officers at all places, sources said.

This will be Modi’s first visit to Hamburg. He had visited Berlin in May. The two-day summit on Friday and Saturday will have sessions on terrorism, climate change, and global growth and trade. Saturday will be all work for Modi before he flies out in the evening for Delhi. No bilateral meeting of Modi is scheduled with China, but the prime minister is slated to meet eight other leaders one-on-one.

It is not yet clear who will be performing at the Elphi for G-20 leaders. The official opening concert this January at the 354-feet high concert hall — which resembles a hoisted sail, water wave or quartz crystal — was performed by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under direction of Thomas Hengelbrock. The first musical selection then was ‘Pan’ from Benjamin’s Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, followed up with a light show. The G-20 leaders may be in for a similar treat. The concert hall has been closed for the public from July 4 to 8 as a security measure.