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Liberation Day 2022: What's on?

Liberation Day 2022: What's on?

Sunday 08 May 2022

Liberation Day 2022: What's on?

Sunday 08 May 2022


Events will be held throughout the island on Monday as Guernsey celebrates the 77th anniversary of liberation from the German occupying forces.

Here is Express’ lowdown on what is going on, where and when.

In Town…

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08:59 Sounding of the siren

The siren will sound from Victoria Tower at 08:59 in remembrance of those who fought in the Second World War. This will be followed by a two-minute silence before the sounding of the all-clear siren.

09:00 Schools' relay race

This is a fun event for secondary school students held along the seafront.  

09:40 Military parade

This will start at the North Beach and end at the Town Church. The parade will be inspected by His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant-General Richard Cripwell, who will be experiencing his first Liberation Day in office.

09:50 Wreath laying

The Bailiff, Richard McMahon, will lay a commemorative wreath at the War Memorial.

10:00 Liberation Day run

Runners will start at Rousse and head into Town via Bordeaux and The Bridge before finishing at the North Beach.

11:00 Church service

The service at the Town Church will be accompanied by services held across the island's churches.

16:00 The bugles and drums of the Stedfast Association

The band, started in 2000 by former members of the Boys' Brigade, will play at the Castle Emplacement as the Liberation cavalcade travels around the Model Yacht Pond.

21:15 Fireworks

As usual, fireworks launched from Castle Cornet will signal the end of the day's celebrations. Pictured (top) is the fireworks display from 2019 courtesy of the States' Liberation Day website, which can be accessed HERE.

At Castle Cornet…

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Entry to the Castle is free from 10:00 until 16:00 and there are events throughout that time. 

Events starting in the morning include flag decorating, lawn games, face painting and storytelling run by the Guille-Allès Library. 

In the afternoon, there will be a 21-gun salute, performances from youth choirs and an ecumenical service. 

Musical performances will run for most of the day with a break around the firing of the Noon Day Gun.

Island-wide cavalcade…

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The cavalcade will visit all 10 parishes. 

Around 100 vehicles are expected to take part, including military vehicles, motorbikes from the Guernsey Military Vehicle Group and classic cars from the Old Car Club. Decorated tractors will join them for the second half of the cavalcade.

In total, the cavalcade will travel over 30 miles around the island. It will start at 12:00 at La Route de Pleinmont and conclude beyond the filter near the Mallard complex at around 16:45.

After starting in Torteval, the cavalcade will travel through L'Eree, the Longfrie, Bailiff's Cross, Vazon, Cobo, L'Islet and the Route du Braye before stopping at Pembroke for about an hour and a half for refreshments and live music put on by JT.

The second half of the cavalcade will pass through Bordeaux, The Bridge, Les Banques, the Model Yacht Pond, Fountain Street, Fort Road, La Grande Rue in St Martin's and Forest Road.

Royal visit…

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Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex will arrive in Guernsey on the afternoon of Liberation Day. 

The Earl and Countess will first visit the Liberation Tea Dance at Beau Séjour. They will then travel to Castle Cornet for the ecumenical service before watching a performance of Sarnia Cherie by the Guernsey Music Service Youth Choir and the 21-gun salute. 

After the salute, they will watch the cavalcade from the Guernsey Yacht Club and then meet people celebrating along the Castle Emplacement before leaving for a night at Government House. 

HMS Medusa…

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HMS Medusa was navigational leader for Omaha Beach on D-Day, leaving Portland on 4 June to mark the edge of a minefield for minesweepers and then staying on station as a beacon for the invasion fleet. She went on to take the surrender of the port of Ijmuiden in The Netherlands before becoming the first Allied vessel to reach Amsterdam.

She will be open to visitors on the Crown Pier between 10:00 and 14:00 on Monday and 10:00 and 16:30 on Tuesday.

Events in the parishes…

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This year, in the absence of most of the all-day events usually held in Town, money has been allocated to the parishes to help them organise their own events. 

Eight of the 10 parishes have organised events. All the information about these events is available HERE.

Digital…

Three events are being livestreamed: the service at the Town Church from 11:00, some of the cavalcade from around 15:50 and the fireworks display at 21:15.

More information about the livestreamed events is available HERE. 

READ MORE...

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Royal Couple to visit on Liberation Day

Free Liberation Day activity packs available for children

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