The Norouz celebration of spring equinox and the beginning of new year will take centre stage on BBC Persian TV, with a six-hour show on Tuesday 20 March. The special programme will include music, comedy and a football quiz, leading to the moment of spring equinox at 16:15:28 GMT.

BBC Persian recorded musical performances of Norouz 2018 on three stages of a studio in Hollywood. Presented by Behzad Bolour – the BBC music producer and entertainer – the show features 12 artists performing in a variety of music genres, from rock to traditional. The Norouz show will feature a rare appearance of Iranian superstar, Moein, who has not performed live on any television channel since the Iranian revolution of 1979.

Another Norouz premiere features stand-up comedian Mahmoud Farjami’s TV appearance in front of an audience in London’s music venue, Under the Bridge.

In the year of the World Cup, the Norouz celebration will feature a football quiz show.

A few minutes before the arrival of the new year – at 16:15:28 GMT, the BBC will go live in the London studio where the team will cheer the count-down to the exact moment of spring equinox. The show will then continue with the concert in Hollywood, before returning to London for “Fall-e Hafez” – telling the fortune of the new year through the classical poetry of Hafez.