The statue of Charles Aznavour will be installed in France Square in Yerevan. The decision was approved today by the Yerevan City Council.
Presenting the project at the siting of the Council today, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan said the sculpture of Jules Bastien Lepage by Auguste Rodin will be moved to another place in the same square.
A replica of the Aznavour statue will be erected in France.
The legendary French Armenian singer, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records, was born Chahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris.
Aznavour sang for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Levon Sayan.
In 1989 Charles Aznavour composed the song “Pour toi Arménie,” which was recorded by a group of French singers popular at the time. This charity single was intended to raise funds to help the Armenians who experienced the 1988 Spitak earthquake. It sold more than 1 million copies.
Aznavour would say: “Every day of the year, I am active, never completely at rest. My motto is borrowed from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At any point and at any time, the artist cried out: Long live life!”
In 2009 Aznavour was appointed Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland.
On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Charles Aznavour passed away aged 94 on October 1, 2018. France paid him a national tribute at Hôtel des Invalides. The ceremony was chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Charles Aznavour was laid to rest in the family vault outside Paris after a private funeral at the city’s St John the Baptist Armenian cathedral.
