The International Advisory Committee is hosting the 52nd annual Eve of Nations on Friday in the Lloyd Noble Center.
Eve of Nations is Oklahoma’s largest student-led multicultural event. Each year, international students from the various organizations under the International Advisory Committee compete on a night of cultural celebration. This year, 12 organizations will compete.
“We have never had this many organizations wanting to compete,” IAC public relations chair Arine Mkhitaryan said.
Mkhitaryan said each organization will showcase a performance that reflects its goals and its country’s culture.
The theme for this year’s Eve of Nations is “Seaside Symphony.” IAC holds four large events throughout the year, following the overall theme of “Elegance of Elements.” Each event is themed around one of the natural elements, which include earth, fire, air and water.
Mkhitaryan said “Seaside Symphony” was chosen as the theme for Eve of Nations because, much like the vastly unexplored oceans, the international community at OU is one that is often overlooked.
“So many people won’t know that we exist and we’re huge here, but we have presence and we wanted to show that,” Mkhitaryan said.
Attendees can purchase dinner tickets for a table on the floor of Lloyd Noble and for a meal comprised of cultural dishes from each organization. Features of this year’s menu include beef dombolo, tiramisu, kuku sabzi and chicken tinga.
With the larger size of this year’s Eve of Nations, Mkhitaryan said the event will have three emcees rather than two and will feature special guest performers Stomp N Shake and Lagrimas Negras.
Dinner tickets are nearly sold out, and approximately 1,500 attendees are expected this year, according to Mkhitaryan. Tickets to watch the show from a bowl seat in the Lloyd Noble Center are available to be purchased online.
The Eve of Nations will begin with dinner at 7 p.m. on Friday in the Lloyd Noble Center. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and performances will begin at 7:15 p.m.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Sophie Hemker and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
