The 40th anniversary of Bangladesh Independence Day will be celebrated with eight days of events at the Rich Mix arts centre in Bethnal Green.

As Tower Hamlets marks the country’s declaration of independence in 1971 on Saturday, the Bethnal Green Road venue will host an opening concert featuring globally renowned artists from Asia and the UK.

The bill includes Indian singer Chandra Chakraborty, a former child prodigy and Ershad Alamgir, a versatile singer of Asian poetic forms such as the Ghazal and Nazrul Geeti and western jazz, rock and pop.

Over seven nights, from Sunday to next Saturday, there will also be seven “episodes” of “ A Golden Age”, a collaboration with Tara Arts mixing music, dance and drama to tell the story of revolution in the lead up to the Bangladesh War of Independence, also in 1971.

Each evening will feature live music from classical Bengali composers including Rabindranath Tagore and modern Bangla songs.

The venue is also hosting an exhibition called Freedom by the Swadhinata Trust, featuring images of the war by photographers Anwar Hossain and Abul Lais Shyamal, until April 2.

Family art, storytelling, dance and craft workshops will take place on Saturday.

Jane Earl, the Rich Mix’s director, said: “By bringing communities together in east London, we can celebrate and promote the culture and heritage of all the myriad communities living here.”

All the events are free. For further information visit richmix.org.uk.