National Day 2018

22 June 2018

Changing of the guard in front of the Grand Ducal Palace

National day festivities will kick off on Friday 22 June in front of the Grand Ducal Palace with the changing of the guard, in which an army detachment of honour will participate under the command of the First Lieutenant Fabien Kieffer.

The musical arrangement will be provided by the "Military Band", under the guidance of Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Claude Braun, Head of the "Military Band".

The Grand-Ducal couple in Larochette

This year, the Grand-Ducal couple will be in Larochette where they will be welcomed in the late afternoon by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of the Economy, the Minister of Internal Security, the Minister of Defence, Étienne Schneider, the Secretary of State of the Economy, the Secretary of State for Internal Security, the Secretary of State of Defence, Francine Closener, the Secretary of State for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Claude Turmes, as well as by Natalie Silva, Mayor of the municipality of Larochette.

Following the presentation of the municipality's authorities, T.R.H. the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess will visit the clients of the day-care facility "Elise de Roebe" of Stëftung Hëllef Doheem.

The Grand-Ducal couple will also have the opportunity to visit the old quarter of Larochette by passing by the presbytery, the youth centre, the former laundry-house as well as the house of Baillis. Pierre Wies, former Mayor of the municipality of Larochette, will give details on the small town’s history. T.R.H. the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess will meet with young people at the youth centre, which is dedicated to integrating non-Luxembourgish citizens. Moreover, role-play games of pupils of the fundamental school will be presented at the former laundry-house.

T.R.H. the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess and guests will then initiate a procession to Bleech square. The programme will also include a short stop at the Textile Museum with explanations on the old railway station "Jhangli".

On Bleech square, Natalie Silva, the Mayor, will hold a speech and honorary distinctions will be awarded by H.R.H. the Grand Duke.

To conclude the festivities in Larochette, there will be a multicultural celebration where the Grand-Ducal couple will attend a folk dance performance and meet with citizens.

The Hereditary Grand-Ducal couple in Esch-sur-Alzette

T.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess will be in Esch-sur-Alzette, the country's second largest city.

The Hereditary Grand-Ducal couple will be welcomed on place de la Résistance by Mars Di Bartolomeo, President of the Chamber of Deputies, Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State, Felix Braz, Minister of Justice, Lydia Mutsch, Minister of Health, Minister of Equal Opportunity, Dan Kersch, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for the Civil Service and Administrative Reform, and Georges Mischo, Mayor of Esch-sur-Alzette City, as well as by the college of aldermen and the municipal council.

The official welcome will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the monument aux Morts on the place de la Résistance. With the official procession, T.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess will then go through the rue de l'Alzette to reach the Town Hall. There, they will sit in the official gallery to follow the parade of around forty associations based in Esch-sur-Alzette.

At the end of the reception hosted by the Mayor, Georges Mischo, the Hereditary Grand-Ducal couple will greet citizens from the balcony of the Town Hall and will then attend the popular festival known as Escher Volleksfest, where the couple will light the traditional campfire of the Luxembourg scouts.

Message from the Prime Minister

In the early evening of 22 June, Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister and Minister of State, will give the traditional National Day speech.

Torchlight procession and fireworks in Luxembourg

In the evening, T.R.H. the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, as well as their children, will attend the festivities organised by Luxembourg City.

They will be welcomed by Lydie Polfer, Mayor of Luxembourg City, and Serge Wilmes, Deputy Mayor of Luxembourg City, at the intersection of rue de l'ancien Athénée and boulevard Roosevelt. After the presentation of the college of aldermen and the municipal council to the Grand-Ducal family, the family will follow the serenade of the "Military Band" as well as the torchlight procession from the official stand.

The parade that will animate the torchlight procession will be composed of firefighters, various local associations and companies based in Luxembourg City, guides and scouts as well as percussion-, music-, singing bands and folklore groups.

The fireworks, to the music composed by Jacques Neuen, over the Adolphe Bridge will conclude the official programme of festivities on 22 June.

23 June 2018

Official ceremony at the Luxembourg Philharmonie

On 23 June, an official ceremony will be held at the Luxembourg Philharmonie. It will bring together the members of the Grand-Ducal family, members of government, members of parliamant as well as representatives of the college of aldermen and the municipal council of Luxembourg City, the Council of State, the judiciary and the diplomatic corps accredited to Luxembourg's Head of State.

T.R.H. the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, T.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, T.R.H. Prince Felix and Princess Claire, H.R.H. Princess Alexandra and H.R.H. Prince Sebastien will be welcomed by Mars Di Bartolomeo, President of the Chamber of Deputies, by Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister and Minister of State, as well as by Lydie Polfer, Mayor of Luxembourg City.

For the occasion of the official ceremony, H.R.H. the Grand Duke, Mars Di Bartolomeo and Xavier Bettel will give a speech and award honorary distinctions to prominent figures of the civilian world.

Luxembourg's Philharmonic Orchestra will ensure musical interludes along with the Chamber Choir and the Pueri Cantores of the Luxembourg City Conservatory, as well as with the choir of the Institut européen de chant choral Luxembourg (INECC). The music programme will include a composition by the young composer Nik Bohnenberger, as ordered by the Minister of State and the Ministry of Culture.

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

Military parade

The military parade on avenue de la Liberté will be under the command of Colonel Yves Kalmes, Commander of the ceremony and of the Military Centre of Diekirch. It will consist of army and police detachments as well as civil detachments.

After the detachments are set up, General Alain Duschène, Army Chief of Staff, Philippe Schrantz, General Director of the Luxembourg Police, and Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security and Minister of Defence, will successively review the troops.

At noon, the Head of State and H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke will 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 will end with a parade of the following corps and associations:

• the Luxembourgish Army - along with a honorary company, a detachment of flags of former battalions and ex-servicemen, a motorized detachment, the "Military Band" as well as a flag group of the Lithuanian Army to emphasize the military cooperation between the Republic of Lithuania and Luxembourg who are both engaged in the “Enhanced Advanced Presence” of NATO;
• the Luxembourg Police;
• Customs and Excise Agency;
• prison facilities;
• Luxembourg Rescue Services Agency;
• the Red Cross;
• The Union Grand-Duc Adolphe with the Harmonie Kleinbettingen;
• the low altitude flyover of a NH-90 helicopter from the 1^st Wing of the Belgian Component, a police MD 902 helicopter, a C-130 transport aircraft of the 15^th Wing of the Belgian Air Component and an Airbus A400M aircraft of the Lufttransportgeschwader 62 of the German Air Force.

Te Deum

A solemn Te Deum will be celebrated at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg in the presence of the members of the Grand-Ducal family.

It will be celebrated by the archbishop of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg Alain Nacache, Muhamed Rizvic, imam of the muslim community and Reverend Geoff Read - the Chaplain of the Anglican Church of Luxembourg.

The solemn Te Deum will be sung by the Choir of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg conducted by Marc Dostert. Paul Bresich will be playing the great organs. Trumpeters of the "Military Band " will play the Sonnerie nationale.