Georgia celebrates Independence Day
The First Democratic Republic of Georgia back in 1918 lasted only three years. Georgia regained its independence 30 years ago. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Today Georgia marks Independence Day, commemorating May 26, 1918 – the day when the Act of Independence was adopted and which established the First Democratic Republic of Georgia.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, fewer ceremonies will be held on the day, unlike earlier years when multiple events would be held both in Tbilisi and in the regions.
Various armored vehicles are present in central Tbilisi for the day. The presentation will be closed by the flight of Su-25 fighter jets.
The event will be broadcast live.
Earlier today 247 recruits took their oath in Tbilisi and the regions.
At 14:00, the funeral ceremony of General Kvinitadze will take place in Holy Trinity Cathedral who will be later buried in Mtatsminda Pantheon.
At 20:00, a concert dedicated to the Independence Day of Georgia will be held at the Opera and Ballet Theater which will be broadcast live.
Different world sights will light up in colours of the Georgian flag for the date, including Niagara falls, Australian National Carillon, business centre in Tallinn, Atakule Tower in Turkey, Eleftheria square and the city hall building in Cyprus, Omonia square in Athens, Lord Mayor building in Ireland, Doha building in Qatar, Wroclaw stadium in Poland, the National Palace of Culture in Bulgaria and the Skopje Archaeological Museum.
Celebrating #IndependenceDay is a great and glorious moment for all Georgians. Freedom is a paramount human right & ???????? has been fighting for it for many years. Thus, we have earned to be free & independent! Happy Independence Day ????????!#26May pic.twitter.com/14wdnzRf0P
— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) May 26, 2021
The symbol of Brussels, the famous statue of Manneken-Pis, will wear Georgian national clothes on the day.
The First Democratic Republic of Georgia lasted only three years, after being invaded in 1921 by the Russian Red Army.
Georgia regained its independence in 1991.
Today Georgia marks the 30th anniversary of the referendum that led to the country gaining independence from the Soviet Union.
United States President Joe Biden has wished the Georgian people a happy and healthy Independence Day on May 26 in a letter sent to Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. “The anniversary of a nation’s independence is not only a day of celebration, it offers a moment to honour the history and values that are ingrained in the national character, and to look to the future”, Biden wrote.
The remains of Georgia's national hero and commander-in-chief of the first Democratic Republic of Georgia, General Giorgi Kvinitadze, have been returned home from France. His remains will be laid to rest at the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Independence Day on May 26.
The celebration of Independence Day of Georgia will see the central Freedom Square in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi closed for six days, announces Tbilisi City Hall.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the US State Secretary Antony Blinken have congratulated Georgia on Independence Day.
“Georgians, we [the Polish people] are waiting for you in a united Europe, because you have been a part of its heritage for centuries. We are waiting for you in NATO, because you [Georgians] are a proud nation that deserves freedom, security and prosperity”, said Polish President Andrzej Duda during Independence Day official ceremony.
The granddaughter of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, the Commander in Chief of the army of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia, said it was a "dream come true" to see the historical figure's remains laid to rest in Tbilisi on Georgia's Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday, 100 years after the general was forced into emigration by the Soviet invasion of Georgia.
From the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi to the highland Georgian town of Mestia, the country is celebrating Independence Day today, commemorating May 26, 1918 – the day when the Act of Independence was adopted, establishing the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. The main location of the ceremony was Freedom Square in central Tbilisi. However, the ceremony also took place in Svaneti, Adjara, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kakheti and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regions.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has pardoned ten convicts and two probationers on Georgia’s Independence Day today.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Georgia’s Independence from the Soviet Union, at the initiative of the Georgian Embassy in Armenia, billboards in Yerevan lit up in red and white – the colours of Georgia’s national flag.
The March 31, 1991 referendum laid a “solid foundation” for building a modern Georgian state, making an “irreversible move” towards the goal for which many generations of Georgians have struggled and worked, Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili said today while marking the 31st anniversary of the 1991 independence referendum.
General Giorgi Mazniashvili, leader of armed forces in the tumultuous years of Georgia’s First Democratic Republic, has been celebrated by the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili as a “great military leader” on an anniversary of the historical figure’s birth on Wednesday.
Traffic in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi will be restricted to facilitate preparations for the annual Independence Day celebrations on Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Monday.