After months of anticipation, Guyanese ushered in the country’s 50th Independence with great emotion as the fifty foot Golden Arrowhead was, for the second time this year, hoisted in the air amidst much fanfare.

And while the atmosphere was not quite as energetic as it was on February 23, there was still an immense feeling of pride among the majority of people in the massive crowd.

Over 20,000 Guyanese flocked the newly built D’Urban Park to celebrate this historic event and among them, many expressed great pride to have been able to witness Guyana at 50 and the celebrations that were hosted to usher it in.

Following the usual superstar reception for President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, the show dived straight into a cultural presentation which saw the participation of over 1,000 young people. With the aid of a joint steel pan group, the national choir and an array of drums, the children pranced on the tarmac to a medley of National Songs.

Decked in costumes depicting the colours of the Golden Arrowhead and costumes representative of Guyana’s minerals, flora and fauna and other symbolic emblems, the children, among which included those as young as five years old, performed their choreography with great precision.

And though it was at first a puzzle as to the order in which they performed, an aerial view of the performance revealed a strategic formation of the numbers ‘5-0’ on the large tarmac.

The night’s proceedings climaxed, of course, with the flag-raising ritual, during which the crowd waited patiently for the gigantic Golden Arrowhead to reach its destination atop the pole. During its ascension, the crowd watched on, cheering as it rose higher in the air.

The evening ended with a five minute display of fireworks, and a dispersing crowd among which persons could be heard chattering about the fact of how pleased they were that Guyana has achieved this milestone at a time when much positive change has been observed.