State and international organization representatives
Thematic institutions
Relatives of World War I veterans
The Armistice Day centenary was the international series of events marking the centenary of the armistice of 11 November 1918, which ended hostilities in World War I. It marked the end of the First World War centenary, which covered a wider period from 2014 through 2018.
In the months leading up to the date of the centenary on 11 November 2018, numerous commemorations were planned both in conjunction with the annual series of Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and Veterans Day events and as part of commissions dedicated to marking the four-year centenary period. In Paris, France, over seventy heads of state and government attended an international ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, followed by the opening of the inaugural Paris Peace Forum. In London, a service of thanksgiving was hosted at Westminster Abbey. Other military ceremonies took place elsewhere throughout the United Kingdom and in key members of the Commonwealth which participated in the war, while similar commemorations were held in Europe and across the world.
Formal peace negotiations only took place during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and 1920. With three extensions to the armistice having already been made, a state of peace was ratified with a series of treaties between the Allies and the former Central Powers, beginning with the Treaty of Versailles on 10 January 1920.[2][3]
Following the end of the war, 11 November was designated a memorial day initially dedicated to the anniversary of the armistice and the military dead of World War I, known as Armistice Day. The first such observance took place in 1919.[4] It has since been renamed in several countries under different names (e.g. Remembrance Day in Commonwealth countries and Veterans Day in the United States).
In France, the French government's Mission Centenaire committee was responsible for organizing the centenary schedule.[6] The government of the United Kingdom announced that it would allocate a £19million package for the centenary, with an additional £10million being added to the annual budget made to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.[7]
Excerpt of the Franco-German memorial plaque at Compiègne
The schedule for the centenary commemorations included an international commemorative event at the Arc de Triomphe followed by an inaugural peace forum, as elaborated by French President Emmanuel Macron.[8] Around 10,000 police officers, gendarmes and soldiers were placed on duty in the lead up to the events.[9] Invited guests included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On 10 November 2018, Macron and Merkel visited the Glade of the Armistice at Compiègne, where they laid a wreath, unveiled a reconciliatory plaque and signed a book of remembrance in a replica of the railway carriage where the Armistice was signed. The visit was symbolic as it marked the first time that French and German leaders had visited the site since 1945.[10][11] Macron later held a bilateral meeting with Trump at the Élysée Palace, which took place a day after Trump tweeted that "Europe should first pay its fair share" of NATO defence expenditures in response to the former's suggestions for a continental European army.[12][13]
Dignitaries arrived in Paris for an official dinner to be hosted on 10 November 2018 at the Musée d'Orsay, as well as visits to national memorials.[18][17]
Ceremony
International Ceremony for the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice
On the morning of 11 November, guests were received by Macron at the Élysée Palace before departing in unison.[19] Trump, Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used their own transportation due to security concerns—ultimately showing up late to the venue—in contrast to other guests who were taken in coaches.[19][20][21]
The ceremony, officially titled the International Ceremony for the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice (French: Cérémonie internationale du Centenaire de l'Armistice du 11 novembre 1918),[22] began roughly after 11:00 CET, following a presidential inspection of troops, a roll call of French soldiers killed in the preceding year and an army choir rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.[23][24][25]
The event included a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played the sarabande from Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor. A group of testimonies dating to 11 November 1918 were read out by a group of teenage students in between, after which Ma performed the second movement of Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello with French violinist Renaud Capuçon.[26] Beninese musician Angélique Kidjo sang a variation of the song Blewu by Bella Bellow, in homage to colonial troops.[27][28][28] Macron then delivered a speech in which he denounced nationalism as a "betrayal of patriotism", and warned of the resurgence of "old demons".[29][24] The European Union Youth Orchestra followed with a performance of Ravel's Bolero.[30]
The end of the service included a rekindling of the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier, where Macron also laid a wreath. The "Sonnerie aux morts" and a minute of silence, concluding with the "Cessez-le-feu" bugle call, marked the end of the ceremony.[31][19]
Over 120 foreign representatives, including 72 heads of state and government and members of several international organizations, attended the commemorations in Paris.[6][34][9] According to the French presidential office, only countries "which sent troops or workers to the European theaters of war" were invited to be represented.[35]
On 4 November 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse Brigitte Macron hosted German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Strasbourg Cathedral, marking the official start of the week-long commemorative period in France. A concert was held in their presence, and the flags of France, Germany and the European Union were hoisted outside the cathedral.[57]
In the lead up to the centenary itself, Macron carried out a "memorial tour", visiting symbolic locations on the Western Front, which subsequently drew anger from voters over what the Financial Times described as his "perceived metropolitan disregard for their pocketbook concerns."[58] On 6 November, Macron announced that writer Maurice Genevoix, author of numerous books on the First World War, would be posthumously listed on the Panthéon in 2019, alongside 14 French civilians and soldiers who participated in the war.[59]
On 9 November, Macron and UK Prime Minister Theresa May jointly paid respects at the Thiepval Memorial in northern France. May also laid wreaths at the graves of John Parr and George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last British soldiers killed during the war, during a visit to the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Belgium. Her wreaths were engraved with handwritten messages, invoking wartime poems to express gratitude to the dead for being "staunch to the end".[60]
Marshal Pétain, when he led France during the Second World War, was complicit in profound crimes which were recognized, and the responsibility of the French state was recognized. [...] I forgive nothing, but I erase nothing from our history.
A separate planned tribute to Philippe Pétain, who served in the Battle of Verdun and later headed Nazi-aligned Vichy France, at the Hôtel des Invalides alongside other World War I marshals, was reported by French media in October 2018. In response, the office of the Élysée said it was not part of the official schedule and did not understand how Pétain "ended up" on the list of tributes.[67] Macron in particular described Pétain as a "great soldier", while remarking that he made "disastrous choices" during the Nazi occupation.[58] The incident led to backlash from French Jews, the opposition and on social media, ultimately resulting in the tribute's withdrawal.[68]
Three Femen members staged a protest at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 10 November welcoming "war criminals",[n 3] and were arrested by French police.[73][74] In a later statement, Femen listed Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as examples of this description, along with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was not invited.[72] The motorcade carrying Trump to the Arc de Triomphe on the day of the ceremony passed by a topless woman who ran towards it and was quickly dragged out by French police; Femen later claimed responsibility.[75]
Anti-Trump demonstrations were held at the Place de la République in response to the US president's visit.[76]
The seating arrangement caused a major controversy in Serbia. As the Serbian army had a pivotal role in forcing both Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary out of the war, with Serbia itself having the most extensive casualties compared to its population number and a historical friendship with France, the positioning of Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić away from the frontline seating areas in place of representatives of countries which were on the opposing side in the war or didn't even exist as separate states at the time, was taken as an insult in Serbia.[77][78][79]
United Kingdom
10,000 torches were lit in the moat of the Tower of London, in an artistic installation entitled Beyond the Deepening Shadow which would repeat nightly until Armistice Day (11 November).[80] The Shrouds of the Somme, designed by artist Rob Heard and comprising 72,396 shrouded figures representing all servicemen from the British Commonwealth with no known grave, was laid out at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, being on display from 8 to 18 November 2018.[81][60]
Members of the public during a service in Sheffield
As Remembrance Sunday in 2018 fell on 11 November, the National Service of Remembrance was held concurrently with other commemorative events in Europe. The service at the Cenotaph in London began at 11:00 GMT, with a two-minute silence being observed, after which the Prince of Wales then laid the first wreath on behalf of the Queen.[54][86] Thousands were able to pay respect to relatives and soldiers killed in the war during a march past the memorial.[87] Despite ongoing renovations, the Big Ben rang eleven times at 12:30 GMT.[88][89]
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was invited to attend as a special guest, becoming the first German leader to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph.[29] The invitation was reportedly planned as early as September 2018.[90] The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport described his presence as "a symbol of the friendship that exists between the two countries today".[86] A memorial service was held in the evening at Westminster Abbey, which was attended by members of the royal family and Prime Minister Theresa May. During the service, Steinmeier read out a passage from 1 St John 4:7–11 in German.[29]
Part of the crowd outside the Australian War Memorial prior to the 2018 Remembrance Day ceremony
In Australia, a Remembrance Day service was held at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, alongside a national minute of silence in remembrance of Australian soldiers who fought and died in overseas conflicts. Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed a crowd of more than 12,000 attending the ceremony. An extension of the Anzac Memorial in Sydney was opened to the public for the occasion.[92][93] In addition, over a thousand people attended a commemoration at the Australian National Memorial in the French town of Villers-Bretonneux.[92]
In New Zealand, a national service took place at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, which was organized as part of the wider New Zealand WW100 commemorations. A 100-gun salute was held at the Wellington waterfront, and two minutes of silence were observed at 11:00 NZDT, followed by a cacophony of noise replicating how the public initially reacted to the news of the Armistice a century prior. Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave speeches at the event.[94][95][96]
In India, a memorial service was held at the Delhi War Cemetery, where Indian and British delegates laid wreaths. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat led the British delegation and was joined by Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, and defence attaché Brigadier Mark Goldsack.[97] In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Indian troops and pledged to "further an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood".[98][99]
In Ghana, a luncheon was organized by the British High Commission and the Ghanaian government on the occasion of Remembrance Day. On the same day, President Nana Akufo-Addo and a group of ex-servicemen observed a two-minute silence.[100][101] Earlier, Akufo-Addo participated in a wreath-laying ceremony on 2 November at the Christiansborg War Cemetery in Accra, along with Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Edward, who were touring the country at the time.[102]
Ceremonies in Kenya and Zambia were scheduled for 25 November 2018; German forces fighting in Northern Rhodesia only received news of the armistice on 14 November 1918, and eventually surrendered later that month.[103][104] In Voi, the Commonwealth War Cemetery hosted a small ceremony, which was attended by British and German diplomats; a Kenyan army bugler played the Last Post during the ceremony, and wreaths were laid by a Kenyan general and some local and international visitors.[105] The Zambian government sponsored a centenary event in the town of Mbala organized by the national tourism agency, saying that attraction to the region would unlock the "tourism and investment potential of Northern Province".[104][106]
Commemorative services took place in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Romania, and Russia.[108][29]
Belgium
Special performance of the Last Post at the Menin Gate on the morning of 11 November
National commemorations were held in the capital of Brussels. In an address, King Philippe pledged to keep "the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for us and the values for which they fought", and to "engage together in building a world of peace." A dove and 11 pigeons were released during the memorial service.[109]
In Ypres, a series of tributes to Commonwealth veterans was attended by the Minister-President of Flanders, Geert Bourgeois.[110] The Last Post, traditionally performed nightly at the Menin Gate since 1928, was additionally played at 11:00 CET to mark the centenary.[110]
Minuscule individual events were held, including a religious service at the Berlin Cathedral, and an exhibition showcasing works by 31 international artists representing countries involved in WWI peace negotiations.[n 4] Public memorization in modern Germany was muted, mainly owing to the defeat of the German Empire and the chronology of events resulting from the aftermath of the war.[114][115]
Hungary
To mark the centenary, the Hungarian National Bank released a series of collector coins on 16 October 2018, which included a silver variant with a face value of 10,000 HUF and a non-ferrous metal variant with a fifth (2,000 HUF) of the face value.[116]
Ireland
A service was organized at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, and attended by President Michael D. Higgins, who was to be sworn in for a second term on the same day, along with representatives of at least 47 countries. The Last Post was played during the ceremony.[117][118]
A ceremony was held at the Gëlle Fra monument in the capital during the late afternoon, in the presence of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, as well as prime minister Xavier Bettel, who also paid tribute to war casualties.[121]
In remarks made during a weekly Angelus address, Pope Francis appealed for a rejection of a "culture of war", quoting Benedict XV, who served as pope during the majority of the First World War, and reflecting on the occasion of St. Martin's Day, which also fell on 11 November. The bells at St. Peter's Basilica were tolled in the afternoon in unison with other church bells across Europe.[126]
President Donald Trump proposed that a military parade at the Capitol be held on 10 November to mark the centenary, in admiration of France's Bastille Day military parade (which Trump attended as a guest in 2017). However, Trump cancelled the proposed event in August 2018 over cost concerns, with estimates that the parade would have cost as much as US$92million.[129][130][131]
↑ Ali Bongo, the then-President of Gabon, was unable to attend as initially scheduled after suffering a stroke.[46]
↑ In a statement, Femen specifically listed Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as examples of this description, along with Mohammed bin Salman, who was not invited.[72]
"The Latest: Leaders discuss Ukraine elections at Paris meet". Associated Press News. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023. Ambassadors, Romanian army officers and others laid wreaths at a war memorial as Romania marked the end of World War I a century ago.
"99 państw świętuje zakończenie I wojny światowej"[99 countries celebrate the end of World War I]. Interia (in Polish). 11 November 2018. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022. Na czele polskiej delegacji stał minister spraw zagranicznych Jacek Czaputowicz.[The Polish delegation was headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz.]
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities. Hostilities ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. The First World War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, at 5:45 am for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 although, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only at nightfall. The armistice initially expired after a period of 36 days and had to be extended several times. A formal peace agreement was reached only when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in November. Remembrance Sunday, within the Church of England, falls in the liturgical period of Allsaintstide.
An Armed Forces Day, alongside its branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the armed forces, or one of their branches, of a sovereign state, including their personnel, history, achievements, and perceived sacrifices. It's often patriotic or nationalistic in nature, carrying propaganda value outside of the conventional boundaries of a military's subculture and into the wider civilian society. Many nations around the world observe this day. It is usually distinct from a Veterans or Memorial Day.
A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to give financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.
The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of Défilé militaire du 14 juillet, is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of 14 July each year in Paris since 1880, almost without exception. The parade passes down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées from Place Charles de Gaulle, centred around the Arc de Triomphe, to the Place de la Concorde, where the President stands, along with members of the Government, figures from the legislative branch, the Mayor of Paris, as well as foreign ambassadors to France.
Lazare Ponticelli, Knight of Vittorio Veneto, was at 110, the last surviving officially recognized veteran of the First World War from France and the last poilu of its trenches to die.
The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the dead of Britain and the British Empire of the First World War, was rededicated in 1946 to include those of the Second World War, and has since come to represent the Commonwealth casualties from those and subsequent conflicts. The word cenotaph is derived from Greek, meaning 'empty tomb'. Most of the dead were buried close to where they fell; thus, the Cenotaph symbolises their absence and is a focal point for public mourning. The original temporary Cenotaph was erected in 1919 for a parade celebrating the end of the First World War, at which more than 15,000 servicemen, including French and American soldiers, saluted the monument. More than a million people visited the site within a week of the parade.
The First World War centenary was the four-year period marking the centenary of the First World War, which began in mid-2014 with the centenary of the outbreak of the war, and ended in late 2018 with the centenary of the 1918 Armistice.
The centenary of the outbreak of World War I was commemorated in late July and early August 2014. Governments in Europe held a series of official commemorative events to mark the occasion.
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is a French politician who has been President of France since 2017. Macron is ex officio one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. He previously was Minister of Economics, Industry and Digital Affairs under President François Hollande from 2014 to 2016 and Deputy Secretary-General to the President from 2012 to 2014. He is a founding member of Renaissance, a centrist political party.
The Mémorial de la France combattante is the most important memorial to French fighters of World War II (1939–1945). It is situated below Fort Mont-Valérien in Suresnes, in the western suburbs of Paris. It commemorates members of the armed forces from France and the colonies, and members of the French Resistance. Fifteen representative French fighters were buried here in an elaborate ceremony on 11 November 1945. The present memorial was opened on 18 June 1960. It has a wall in which are set sixteen bronze reliefs that represent in allegorical terms the different phases, places and participants in the struggle.
L'Anneau de la Mémoire is a World War I memorial in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, France. Designed by Philippe Prost and inaugurated on 11 November 2014, the 96th anniversary of Armistice Day, the memorial honors the 576,606 soldiers of forty different nationalities who died at Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The memorial is located at the site of the national cemetery of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. The monument consists of 500 metal panels that are arranged in an ellipse pattern, each 3 meters in height. Each panel contains approximately 1200 names of fallen soldiers, listed alphabetically by last name. The 500th panel remains blank so that any newly discovered names may be inscribed. The most noteworthy aspect of the Ring of Memory is that it is the first memorial to list alphabetically, with no regard to rank nor nationality.
The 44th G7 summit was held on 8–9 June 2018, in La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings.
Since Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France on 7 May 2017, a series of protests have been conducted by trade union activists, left-wing activists and right-wing activists in opposition to what protesters consider to be neoliberal policies and globalism, his support of state visits by certain world leaders, his positions on French labour law reform, as well as various comments or policy proposals he has made since assuming the presidency.
The Paris Peace Forum is a French non-profit organisation created in March 2018. The organisation hosts an annual gathering of world leaders and heads of international organisations, as well as leaders from civil society and private sectors and thousands of individuals from around the globe, on creating forms of collective action. The Paris Peace Forum completes the existing world agenda of multilateral gatherings by creating a specific event for global governance issues, as economic and financial issues are dealt at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and security issues at the Munich Security Conference.
Hubert Germain was a French politician who was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. He was the last living Companion of the Order of Liberation.
Rima Abdul Malak is a French politician who served as Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne from May 2022 to January 2024.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier holds an unidentified member of the French armed forces killed during the First World War, to symbolically commemorate all soldiers who have died for France throughout history. It was installed in Paris under the Arc de Triomphe on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with the interment of a British unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey, making both graves the first examples of a tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the first to honour the unknown dead of the First World War.
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