National Day 2025

Press release

Created on

Last update

On the occasion of the public celebration of the birthday of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke, the Grand Ducal couple and their children, together with members of the Government, will attend the festivities organised in Mondercange, Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg City on 22 and 23 June 2025. The 2025 edition is particularly significant, as it marks the 25th anniversary of the reign of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke.

23 June 2025

Official ceremony at the Luxembourg Philharmonie

The National Day programme begins at 9.45 am with the official ceremony organised by the Government in honour of HRH the Grand Duke at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, in the presence of the Grand Ducal Family.

This year’s theme is the 25th anniversary of His Royal Highness’s accession to the throne. It brings together members of the Grand Ducal Family, Deputies, members and former members of the Government, as well as members of the Council of State, the judiciary, the municipal council of the City of Luxembourg, and the diplomatic corps accredited to Luxembourg.

Upon the arrival of HRH the Grand Duke at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Wilhelmus is performed by the Military Band. TRH the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess, accompanied by their children and grandchildren, are welcomed by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Claude Wiseler, the Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, and the Mayor of the City of Luxembourg, Lydie Polfer.

During the official ceremony, HRH the Grand Duke, Claude Wiseler and Luc Frieden deliver speeches.

The musical accompaniment is provided by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, together with the chamber choir and the Pueri Cantores of the Conservatoire of the City of Luxembourg, under the direction of Gast Waltzing.

Gallery 1

  1. TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  2. TRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duchess

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  3. HRH Prince Félix

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  4. TRH Prince Sébastien and Princess Alexandra and her husband Nicolas Bagory

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  5. TRH Prince Sébastien, Prince Louis and Prince Noah

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  6. TRH Princess Sibilla and Prinz Guillaume

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  7. TRH Princess Diane and Prince Jean

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  8. Arrival at the Philharmonie

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  9. Prime Minister Luc Frieden and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  10. Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs and his husband

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  11. Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  12. Martine Hansen, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, Minister for Consumer Protection

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  13. Lex Delles, Minister for the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism and husband

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  14. Léon Gloden, Minister for Home Affairs and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  15. Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence, Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity and her husband

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  16. Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance and his wife

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  17. Max Hahn, Minister for Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  18. Georges Mischo, Minister of Sport, Minister of Labour and Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  19. Serge Wilmes, Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Minister for the Civil Service and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  20. Elisabeth Margue Minister of Justice , Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Relations with Parliament and her husband

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  21. Eric Thill, Minister for Culture, Minister Delegate for Tourism and his wife

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  22. Martine Deprez, Minister of Health and Social Security and her husband

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  23. Henri Kox, Carole Dieschbourg, Jean-Louis Schiltz

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  24. Members of the State Council

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  25. Members of the City Council

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  26. Diplomatic Corps

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  27. Members of the judiciary

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  28. General Steve Thull and Pascal Peters, Director of the Police

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  29. Welcome at the Philharmonie

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  30. S.A.R. l'archiduchesse Marie-Astrid d'Autriche ; S.A.I.R. l'archiduc Christian d'Autriche

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  31. HRH Princess Margaretha and S.A.S. Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  32. Illustration

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  33. Luc Frieden, Prime Minister during his speech

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  34. Illustration

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  35. Illustration

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  36. Claude Wiseler, speaker of the Parliamant

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  37. The Grand Ducal Couple and Luc Frieden

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  38. HRH the Grand Duke during his speech

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  39. Illustration

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  40. Family picture

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

After the official ceremony, the traditional cannon blast salute of 21 cannon blasts will take place at the Fetschenhaff.

Gallery 1

  1. Traditional 21 cannon blast salute

    © Armée luxembourgeoise

  2. Traditional 21 cannon blast salute

    © Armée luxembourgeoise

  3. Illustration

    © Armée luxembourgeoise

  4. Illustration

    © Armée luxembourgeoise

Play YouTube video, see caption below

Recap of the ceremony at the Philharmonie (Video/Audio YouTube)

Military parade

The military parade on avenue de la Liberté is under the command of Colonel Alain Schoeben, Commander of the Forces and Commander of the Troops. It consists of army and police detachments as well as civilian detachments.

After the detachments are set up and the entry of the army and police flags, General Steve Thull, Army Chief of Staff and Pascal Peters, General Director of the Luxembourg Police successively review the troops. The Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, and the Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, then review the troops.

The Prime Minister, Luc Frieden, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Claude Wiseler, HRH Prince Sébastien, HRH the Grand Duchess and HRH the Hereditary Grand Duchess then take their seats in the official grandstands.

At 12.15 pm, the Head of State and HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke review the troops.

After the execution of the triple "vive" ("long live" in French) by the troops and the national anthem sung by Sergeant Stéphanie Schlink, the military parade ends with a parade of the following corps and associations:

  • the Luxembourg Army is represented by an honour company and the Army flag with full escort, a group of international flags (Eurocorps, Belgium, the Netherlands), a detachment of flags from former battalions and veterans, a detachment from the Army’s Elite Sports Section (SSEA), a motorised detachment, and the Military Band;
  • the Police Lëtzebuerg – with a honorary company and the flag of the grand-ducal police with a large escort, a detachment of the canine group and a motorised detachment;
  • the Customs and Excise Agency – with a foot company, a detachment of the canine group, the "Douane's Musek" and a motorised detachment;
  • the Prison Administration – with a foot company and a detachment of the canine group;
  • the Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS) – with a foot company and the flag of the CGDIS, a section of the canine group and a motorised detachment;
  • the Red Cross – with a section of the canine group and a motorised detachment;
  • the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe, made up of 9 music societies from the commune of Clervaux.

The parade features several low-flying aircraft, including an H145M police helicopter; an Airbus A330 transport and refuelling aircraft from the Multi Role Tanker Transport Unit (MRTT); and an A400M transport aircraft from the 15th Wing of the Belgian Army Air Component, piloted by Luxembourg officers.

Gallery 1

  1. Customs and Excise Agency

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  2. Review of the troops

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  3. CGDIS

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  4. Military Band

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  5. Parade

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  6. Official Stand

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  7. Low overflight of Military Airplane

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  8. Claude Wiseler, speaker of the Parliamant

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  9. Arrival of Prime Minister Luc Frieden

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  10. Parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  11. Customs and Excise Agency

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  12. Military Band

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  13. Parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  14. Parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  15. Review of the troops

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

Te Deum

In the presence of members of the Grand Ducal Family and national authorities, a solemn Te Deum is be celebrated at the invitation of the Archbishop, at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg. The welcome address by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, will be followed by speeches from Alain Nacache, Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg; Hafiz ef. Hilmija Redžić, Head of the Muslim Community of Luxembourg; and Reverend Geoff Read, Chaplain of the Anglican Church in Luxembourg.

The solemn Te Deum is sung by the 'Maîtrise Sainte-Cécile de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg', conducted by Marc Dostert. Paul Breisch plays the symphony organ. The Sonnerie nationale is played by trumpeters of the Military Band.

Gallery 1

  1. The Grand Ducal family

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  2. Arrival of the members of the government at the Cathedral

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  3. Te deum

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  4. Te Deum

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  5. Te Deum

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  6. Family picture

    © SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen

  7. Group photo

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

Press release by the Information and Press Service (SIP)

Member of the Government

Organisation

Information and Press Service

Topic

Event date

23.06.2025