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๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania /Good News

Fans Celebrate Freddie Mercury's 80th Birthday in Montreux

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Fans from around the world gathered in Montreux to celebrate Freddie Mercury's 80th birthday at the five-day Freddie Days event.
  • The singer's statue was decorated with balloons, flowers and messages, while performances and activities highlighted Queen's enduring legacy.
  • Organisers expected between 14,000 and 16,000 visitors, including younger fans who discovered Mercury's music after his death.

In extravagant costumes inspired by Freddie Mercury's stage outfits, fans gathered in Montreux to celebrate what would have been the Queen singer's 80th birthday.

The visitors came from as far away as Australia and Japan, as well as Feltham near London's Heathrow Airport, where Mercury's Parsi family settled after fleeing the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964. His bronze statue overlooking Lake Geneva, erected in 1996, was covered with balloons, flowers and messages left by admirers.

It is a special birthday, so you simply have to make the effort to come and celebrate everything connected with Freddie.

· SoniaThe visitor from Canberra explained why she travelled to Montreux for the celebration.

Mercury spent the final years of his life seeking peace in Montreux and recorded his last vocal parts there. Queen once owned Mountain Studios in the town's casino and recorded six albums at the studio. The site now houses a Queen exhibition where visitors can try the sound engineer's mixing desk.

Such a beautiful, life-affirming song at that stage of his life.

· James PerkinsThe guitarist described A Winter's Tale, Mercury's final composition, during the tribute performance.

On Sunday, guitarist James Perkins of the Queen tribute band Don't Stop Queen Now played A Winter's Tale, the last song Mercury wrote. Perkins called it a beautiful, life-affirming song from a difficult period in the singer's life. The band was due to close the celebrations with the performance.

The free five-day Freddie Days event has been held since 2003. Volunteer organiser Lucien Muller told AFP that between 14,000 and 16,000 people were expected. The 2018 Oscar-winning biopic Bohemian Rhapsody also brought Mercury's work to a new generation. Julie Criddle, who attended the filming of the 1977 We Are the Champions video and has visited Freddie Days 11 times, said younger fans were helping preserve his name.

There are people here who were too young to have seen Queen live, and that is wonderful because Freddie's name is being kept alive.

· Julie CriddleThe longtime attendee reflected on the event's appeal to younger fans.
About this summary

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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