National Day 2024

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On the occasion of the public celebration of the birthday of HRH the Grand Duke, members of the Grand Duke's family and the government attend the festivities organised in Kehlen, Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg City on 22nd and 23rd June 2024.

23 June 2024

Official ceremony at the Luxembourg Philharmonie

On 23 June, an official ceremony is held at the Luxembourg Philharmonie. It brings together the members of the Grand Ducal family, members of government, members of parliament 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.

On the arrival of the members of the Grand Ducal family at the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Wilhelmus is performed by the Military Band. TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, accompanied by TRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, HRH Prince Felix, HRH Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory, HRH Prince Louis and HRH Prince Sébastien, are welcomed by Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies, by Luc Frieden, Prime Minister, as well as by Lydie Polfer, Mayor of Luxembourg City.

At the official ceremony, HRH the Grand Duke, Claude Wiseler and Luc Frieden give speeches before awarding honours to particularly deserving personalities from the civil, economic and cultural spheres.

Luxembourg's Philharmonic Orchestra ensures the musical interludes along with the Chamber Choir and the Pueri Cantores of the Luxembourg City Conservatory. The musical programme also includes a composition by guitarist and composer David Laborier, commissioned by the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Culture.

  1. (from left to right) General Steve Thull, Chief of Staff of the Army; Pascal Peters, Director General of the Grand Ducal Police (Police Lëtzebuerg)

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  2. (l. to r.) Maurice Bauer, First Alderman of the City of Luxembourg; Lydie Polfer, Mayor of the City of Luxembourg

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  3. Members of the judiciary

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  4. Luc Frieden, Prime Minister, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  5. Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  6. (l. to r.) Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance; Martine Hansen, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, Minister for Consumer Protection

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  7. Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  8. Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  9. Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence, Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  10. Max Hahn, Minister for Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  11. Martine Deprez, Minister of Health and Social Security, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  12. Léon Gloden, Minister for Home Affairs, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  13. (l. to r.) Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education; Georges Mischo, Minister of Sport, Minister of Labour

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  14. Serge Wilmes, Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Minister for the Civil Service, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  15. 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 spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  16. Eric Thill, Minister for Culture, Minister Delegate for Tourism, and spouse

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  17. (de g. à dr.) Lydie Polfer, Mayor of Luxembourg City; Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Claude Wiseler, président de la Chambre des députés

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  18. H.R.H. Princess Alexandra and Mr Nicolas Bagory

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  19. (from left to right) H.R.H. Prince Louis; H.R.H. Prince Félix; H.R.H. Prince Sébastien

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

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

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  21. TRH the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  22. Group photo

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  23. TRH the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  24. Illustration

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  25. Illustration

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  26. Luc Frieden, Prime Minister

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  27. Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  28. Illustration

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  29. (from left to right) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Patrick de la Hamette, volunteer and co-founder of Digital Inclusion asbl; HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  30. (from left to right) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Georges Klepper, volunteer and author; HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  31. (from left to right) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Julie Becker, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange; HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  32. (from left to right) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Pierre Cao, orchestra conductor and musician; HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  33. H.R.H. the Grand Duke

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  34. (from left to right) H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke; Luc Frieden, Prime Minister

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  35. Group photo

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

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

  1. Cannon blasts at the Fetschenhaff

    © Armée luxembourgeoise / Caroline Martin

  2. Cannon blasts at the Fetschenhaff

    © Armée luxembourgeoise / Caroline Martin

  3. Cannon blasts at the Fetschenhaff

    © Armée luxembourgeoise / Caroline Martin

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 reviewed 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 noon, 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 Luxembourgish Army – with honorary company and the flag of the Army with a large escort, a detachment of flags of former battalions and ex-servicemen, a motorized detachment as well as the "Musique militaire";
  • a flag group from Romania, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, as part of the NATO enhanced Vigilance Activities mission in Romania;
  • the Grand Ducal Police – 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;
  • 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 5 music societies from the commune of Rambrouch.

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

  1. Military parade

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  2. (from left to right) Pascal Peters, General Director of the Luxembourg Police; General Steve Thull, Army Chief of Staff

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  3. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  4. Léon Gloden, Minister for Home Affairs; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  5. (from left to right) H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke; Colonel Robert Kohnen, Aide de Camp at the Maison du Grand-Duc (House of the Grand Duke); H.R.H. the Grand Duke; General Steve Thull, Army Chief of Staff

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  6. H.R.H. the Hereditary Grand Duke; H.R.H. the Grand Duke

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  7. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  8. A400M transport aircraft

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  9. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  10. H145M police helicopter

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  11. Group photo

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  12. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  13. Military parade

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  14. Military parade

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  15. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  16. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  17. Military Band

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  18. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  19. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  20. Military parade

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  21. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  22. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  23. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  24. Military parade

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  25. Military parade

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  26. (from left to right) Eric Thill, Minister for Culture, Minister Delegate for Tourism; Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance; Max Hahn, Minister for Family Affairs, Solidarity, Living Together and Reception of Refugees; Martine Hansen, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Viticulture, Minister for Consumer Protection

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

Te Deum

A solemn Te Deum is celebrated at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg in the presence of the members of the Grand-Ducal family and national authorities. The welcome address by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, is followed by speeches by Alain Nacache, Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg, Hafiz ef. Hilmija Redžić, leader of the Muslim faith in Luxembourg, and Athenagoras, Archbishop-Metropolitan of Belgium and Exarch of the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The 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. Trumpeters of the "Military Band " play the Sonnerie nationale.

  1. Illustration

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  2. Te Deum

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  3. Te Deum

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  4. (from left to right) H.R.H. Prince Sébastien; H.R.H. Prince Louis; H.R.H. Princess Alexandra; Mr Nicolas Bagory

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

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

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  6. TRH the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  7. The Grand Ducal Family

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

  8. Te Deum

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  9. The Grand Ducal Family

    © SIP / Emmanuel Claude

  10. Illustration

    © SIP / Claude Piscitelli

Press release by the Information and Press Service (SIP)

Member of the Government

Organisation

Information and Press Service

Topic

Event date

23.06.2024

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