Green and red were the predominant colours among the crowd, with men and women choosing clothes in the colours of the Bangladeshi flag for the occasion.
Freedom fighters, politicians, public and private sector officials, diplomats, business leaders and senior journalists were all invited by President Md Abdul Hamid to his palace for Victory Day celebrations.
The president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met the guests to exchange greetings.
Hamid was accompanied by his wife Rashida Khanam.
The national anthem played on, as the president and his wife took the stage. After greeting each other, the president and the prime minister welcomed the family members of the war heroes with the Bir Shreshtha title and freedom fighters wounded in 1971.
They asked after the veterans’ health and renewed pledges for financial support.
Afterwards, Hamid and Hasina were met by members of Indian, Sri Lankan, Nepali and Maldivian cadet corps.
The president and the prime minister then cut a cake at the VIP enclosure at the event.
The two then met cabinet members, foreign diplomats, Supreme Court judges, members of parliament, the chiefs of the armed forces, the vice-chancellors of universities and special guests.
Attendees included Speaker of the Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, acting Chief Justice Abdul Wahhab Miah, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, PM’s Adviser Gowher Rizvi, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon, PM’s Security Affairs Adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique and Food Minister Qamrul Islam.
Also present were Public Service Commission Chairman Mohammad Sadiq and BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim and former BNP leader Barrister Nazmul Huda were also in attendance.
Amader Orthoneeti Editor Nayeemul Islam Khan, bdnews24.com Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi, BFUJ President Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul and columnists Syed Abul Maksud and Swadesh Roy also attended the event.
For the occasion, the presidential palace was decorated in red and green.
“Red and green have been the main fashion trends for Victory Day and Independence Day for the past few years,” costume designer Muskan Sumika told bdnews24.com. “Now we are seeing more use of special colours for special occasions.”
