National Day 2022

22 June 2022

Changing of the guard in front of the Grand Ducal Palace

National day festivities kicked 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  participated under the command of the First Lieutenant Charel Kadusch.

The musical arrangement was provided by the Military Band, conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Claude Braun, Head of the Military Band.

The Grand Ducal couple in Lellingen

In the late afternoon, TRH the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess visited the village of Lellingen (municipality of Kiischpelt).

They were welcomed at the entrance to the village by Mayor Yves Kaiser, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Fernand Etgen, the Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for Relations with Parliament, Marc Hansen, Minister for Energy, Minister for Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, as well as by the aldermen of the municipality of Kiischpelt, in the presence of several members of parliament of the northern constituency. The "Wilhelmus" was performed by the "Fanfare de Kiischpelt".

The delegation proceeded in procession to the official grandstand, where Mayor Yves Kaiserg ave a welcome speech and presented the municipality. The primary school "Schoulkauz" in Wilwerwiltz was presented by its pupils. Afterwards, HRH the Grand Duke presented medals of the Kiischpelt Fanfare and the CIS Kiischpelt.

TRH then went to the 30th Open Air "Konstfestival", an open-air art festival that turns the village into a living art gallery. They met the artists, visited several exhibitions and discovered the rural architectural heritage of the village.

The visit ended with a reception at the "Hencksescheier", where the Grand Ducal couple had the opportunity to meet representatives of the institutions and associations of the municipality, pupils of the "Schoulkauz" school, artists and the population.

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

TRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were in Esch-sur-Alzette, the country's second-largest city.

The Hereditary Grand Ducal couple was welcomed on the "Place de la Résistance" by Georges Mischo, Deputy Mayor of Esch-sur-Alzette City, the Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo, the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Taina Bofferding, the Minister of Sport, Minister of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy, Georges Engel, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Joëlle Welfring, as well as by the college of aldermen and the municipal council. ​

The official welcome was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the memorial of the "monument aux Morts" on the "place de la Résistance". TRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess then joined the official procession through the rue de l'Alzette to reach the Town Hall. There, they sat in the official grandstand to follow the parade of around forty associations based in Esch-sur-Alzette.

At the end of the reception hosted by the city of Esch-sur-Alzette, the Hereditary Grand Ducal couple greeted citizens from the balcony of the Town Hall. They then returned to the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville to attend the popular festival known as "Escher Volleksfest", where the couple ignited 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, gave the traditional National Day speech.

Flame torch procession and fireworks in Luxembourg

In the evening, TRH. the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, TRH. the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, HRH Prince Louis, HRH Prince Gabriel and H.R.H. Princess Alexandra attended the festivities organized by the City of Luxembourg

They were 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 having been welcomed by the college of aldermen and the municipal council, the Grand Ducal family followed the serenade of the Military Band as well as the flame torch procession from the official stand.

The parade that animated the flame torch procession was 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 launched from the Adolphe Bridge, lasting 17 minutes and accompanied by a compilation of musical compositions from 2012 to 2019, concluded the official programme of festivities on 22 June.

23 June 2022

Official ceremony at the Luxembourg Philharmonie

On 23 June, an official ceremony was held at the Luxembourg Philharmonie. It brought 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.

The Grand Ducal family was welcomed by the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Fernand Etgen, by the Prime Minister and Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, and by the Mayor of Luxembourg City, Lydie Polfer.

On the occasion of the official ceremony, H.R.H. the Grand Duke, Fernand Etgen and Xavier Bettel pronounced a speech and then proceeded to the awarding of the honorary distinctions. The following persons were decorated:

• Philipp Crowther, a renowned international multilingual journalist based in Washington DC who reports in Luxembourgish, English, French, Spanish, German and Portuguese, was awarded the Grand Duchy's Order of Merit (officer);
• Laura Zuccoli, who was president of the Association de soutien aux travailleurs immigrés (ASTI asbl) for 12 years until 2022, was awarded the Order of the Oak Crown (officer);
• The Luxembourg writer Guy Helminger, winner of the Servais Prize and the Meran Lyrikpreis (Merano Poetry Prize) in 2022, was awarded the Grand Duchy's Order of Merit (Officer);
• Ni Xia Lian and Sarah De Nutte, bronze medallists in women's doubles at the 2022 World Table Tennis Championships, were awarded the Order of the Oak Crown (officer & knight);
• Léa Linster, chef and first woman in the world to win the Bocuse d'Or in 1989, was awarded the Order of the Oak Crown (officer);
• Ibrahim Ajdarpasic and Fernand Collet were awarded silver medals of honour for acts of courage and dedication after they went without hesitation to the rescue of a person set on fire on 9 February 2022 near the Hamilius Centre in Luxembourg City.

Luxembourg's Philharmonic Orchestra ensured musical interludes along with the Chamber Choir and the Pueri Cantores of the Luxembourg City Conservatory. The music programme included a composition by horn player and composer Kerry Turner, as ordered by the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Culture.

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

Military parade

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

After the detachments were set up and the entry of the army and police flags, General Steve Thull, Army Chief of Staff and Philippe Schrantz, General Director of the Luxembourg Police successively reviewed the troops. Afterwards, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence François Bausch and Minister of Internal Security Henri Kox reviewed the troops.

The Prime Minister, Minister of State, Xavier Bettel, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Fernand Etgen, TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess then took their places on the official grandstands.

At noon, the Head of State and HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke reviewed 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 ended 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 motorised detachment, the "Military Band" as well as a flag group of the Eurocorps composed of the 6 framework nations (Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France and Poland) on the occasion of its 30th anniversary;
• 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;
• Customs and Excise Agency - with a foot company, a detachment of the canine group, the "Douane's Musek" and a motorised detachment;
• Prison administration - with a foot company, 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;
• a delegation from the health sector that worked on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe with the Luxembourg Marching Band (Lumaband);
• the low-level flight of a police H145M helicopter, an Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the 15th Wing of the Belgian Air Component, piloted and co-piloted by Luxembourg officers, and an Airbus A330 transport and refuelling aircraft from the Multi Role Tanker Transport Unit.

In total, more than 700 people, 27 dogs and 60 vehicles paraded past the official gallery.

Te Deum

In the presence of members of the Grand Ducal family, a solemn Te Deum was celebrated in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Luxembourg by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, Alain Nacache, Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg, Fikret Geoffrey Kalabic, Imam of the Muslim community, and Geoff Read, Chaplain of the Anglican Church in Luxembourg.

The solemn Te Deum was sung by the "Maîtrise Sainte-Cécile de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg" conducted by Marc Dostert. Paul Breisch played the Westenfelder organ and Gilles Leyers the positive organ. Trumpeters of the "Military Band" played the Sonnerie nationale.

Press release by the Information and Press Service (SIP)