Gibraltar National Day - Observances

Observances

The official Gibraltar National Day events begin with a children’s fancy dress competition held at the lobby of the Parliament building in Main Street followed by a street party at John Mackintosh Square where food and drink stalls are set up providing Gibraltarian food such as calentita. Later a selected school choir sings songs with a Gibraltar theme, namely Llévame Donde Nací and Virgencita de Europa. This is followed by the main event, the Mayor's recitation of the names of the recipients of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour and the reading of the Gibraltar National Day Declaration from atop the City Hall's balcony. This is followed by the traditional release from atop the Parliament building of 30,000 red and white balloons, representing Gibraltar's population, which has featured on this day since 1992. In the meantime, the school choir leads the general public in the singing of the Gibraltar Anthem.

A funday for children featuring bouncy castles and fairground rides is then held at Grand Casemates Square. There is live music is played all afternoon at Governor’s Parade (the Piazzella) and the Rock on the Rock Club, all free of charge.

Since 2007, there has been a verbena for the older members of the community.

The day culminates with a half hour-long synchronised fireworks display released from the Detached Mole in the Gibraltar Harbour at night followed by a rock concert (held the night before if the following day is a working day).