National Day 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.

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

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.

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.

Press release by the Information and Press Service (SIP)