The Bahamas highlighted a monthslong “Road to 50” celebration of its 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain with a spectacular display of entertainment and cultural events on Sunday and Monday, July 9-10, at Clifford Park on West Bay Street in Nassau.
Just before midnight on July 9, 1973, the British Union Jack was lowered for the last time and the black, aquamarine and gold flag of the Bahamas was raised, officially designating the Bahamian archipelago as an independent nation.
Leading up to the grand celebration at Clifford Park on Sunday and Monday, a number of major events were held throughout the Islands of the Bahamas, including an impressive 50th anniversary Legacy Ball hosted by Prime Minister Philip E. Davis in the ballroom of the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island on Friday night, July 7.
Among the noted guests at the Legacy Ball was Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who has been a frequent visitor to the Bahamas over the years since her husband Sidney Williams was United States Ambassador to the Bahamas from 1994 to 1998.
During Williams’ tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, he and Congresswoman Waters became close friends with Sir Franklyn Wilson, Chairman of Sunshine Holdings Limited, and his wife, former President of the Bahamas Senate Lady Sharon Wilson, and they were house guests of the Wilsons on their visits to Nassau.
