Tragically Hip concert to be aired on Assiniboine Park's big screen

Winnipeggers are invited to Assiniboine Park to watch a live broadcast of the final concert in the Tragically Hip's summer tour, planned despite lead singer Gord Downie's diagnosis with terminal brain cancer.

The Hip return to their hometown of Kingston, Ont., on Aug. 20 for the final show of theirMan MachinePoemtour.

The public is invited to gather atAssiniboinePark for CBC's special broadcast,The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, beginningat 7:30 p.m. CT.The show will be projected on a 27-foot-wide LED screen set upon the Lyric Stage.

"This concert will be a national celebration, and we can't think of a better way to watch Canada's favourite band than in theAssiniboinePark with thousands of Manitoba Hip fans," Kevin Hunter, director of marketing and community engagement withAssiniboinePark Conservancy, stated in a news release.

"The spirit ofAssiniboinePark is about coming together to create memorable experiences with family, friends and community. Creating an event around this concert just feels like a natural fit for us."

The Man MachinePoemtour follows the announcement in May thatDownie, thelead singer and lyricist oftheiconic Canadian rock band, hasterminal brain cancer.

• Gord Downie, Tragically Hip singer, has terminal cancer

Tickets for the tour sold out in seconds, then popped up at inflated prices on resale sites such as StubHub.

The demand to see the band on what many are saying is its final tour prompted CBC to announce last month that it had reached a deal with the Hip to broadcast the last show.

• Tragically Hip's final concert to be broadcast live on CBC

Frustrated fans hadstarted floating the idea of a CBC broadcast in online petitions and open letters addressed tomanagement, butEmmaBdard, a spokeswoman for the CBC, said the public broadcasterwasalready looking at ways to air the concert before the requestsstarted coming in.

The Kingstonconcertwill be broadcast and streamed commercial freeon CBC Television, CBC Radio One,CBC Radio 2, cbcmusic.ca andCBC'sYouTubechannels.

• Online:cbcmusic.ca/thehip
• YouTube channel:youtube.com/cbcmusic
• Online:facebook.com/cbcmusic
• Twitter:twitter.com/cbcmusic