Pierre-Yves Lord is preparing to animate virtual Canada Day celebrations alongside Ontario artist Serena Ryder. For him, it is impossible to ignore the social and political context in which the 2020 festivities take place.
We are in a climate that is delicate and, as presenters, we cannot keep our heads in the sand, therefore, there are things that will have to be said.
Serena Ryder and Pierre-Yves Lord host the Canada Day 2020 shows.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Éric Myre
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After the pandemic confinement, and then the great global conversations that followed the death of George Floyd in the United States, the presenter believes that Canadians more than ever need to come together and value diversity.
Pierre-Yves Lord nevertheless expects messages and sometimes even emotions to take over during the show, as much in the performances of the artists as in the comments that could spice up the animation.
We tell ourselves that it will be fine, but it is not true that it will be fine for everyone
, he recalls, alluding to the economic, social and identity challenges facing the world at the moment. We must use delicacy, sensitivity and be aware that we are in times that are not obvious.
On Wednesday July 1st, the duo of animators intends to leave plenty of room for artists to express themselves.
After all that we have gone through together and seeing what is coming as challenges, can we take a short break and try to celebrate, then put forward what we have more handsome?
Pierre-Yves Lord
Photo: Radio-Canada
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“A tour of Canada in music! “
This year, there will be no stage erected in front of the Ottawa parliament. It is from a virtual studio that Pierre-Yves Lord and Serena Ryder will try to recreate a festive atmosphere using lights, projections and augmented reality.
Some artists will be on stage with them and others will perform from their corner of the country. Pierre-Yves Lord promises that the public will be able to taste Canadian diversity through the art, accents and expressions of the guests.
There is, in art, the opening and the discovery of the other
, says the man who will be at the helm of the two Canadian National Day shows.
At 1 p.m., Canada Day across the country will be broadcast on Radio-Canada, CBC and CPAC. The special evening Canada Day – Together, meanwhile, will begin at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Radio-Canada and the CBC.
Alanis Morissette, Alexandra Stréliski, Charlotte Cardin, Corneille, Damien Robitaille, Laurence Nerbonne, Loud, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine and Sarahmée are some of the programming.
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Singer Patricia Cano
Photo : Patricia Cano
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Also in the game, Patricia Cano says she is honored to be one of the voices chosen to celebrate her host country, but admits above all that she is happy to find her musicians to sing after the covidian silence
.
To shine indigenous languages, the Sudbury singer of Peruvian origin chose The Robins of Dawn, one of the pieces in the musical comedy that the Cree artist Tomson Highway wrote and composed for her, which she will perform in French, English and Cree.
The hosts of this country, the First Nations, welcomed us, we Canadians and immigrants, so yes, we should promote languages other than English and French
, insists the singer-songwriter.
Patricia Cano argues that even if Canada Day celebrates the country’s formation, she would like the 2020 festivities to ignore cultural differences.
July 1 is not a celebration for all Canadians, so for me, the angle is the celebration, period. It’s music, seeing each other, feeling together and I hope it can create a sense of community, because we need it.
Wednesday, thanks to the words and the music of Tom Highway, the artist will sing so happy Birthday
to humans and animals on Earth, which he feels is very timely at this time of cultural tensions around the world and at home
.
With the collaboration of Kevin Sweet and Valérie Lessard
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