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Seychelles celebrates 42nd Independence anniversary |30 June 2018

The National Day parade at Stad Linite was the highlight of this year’s celebrations of Seychelles’ 42nd  anniversary of its independence.

With the above, the country is this year also celebrating 25 years since the Third Republic and its Constitution, as well as the 240th anniversary of its capital, Victoria.

It was the arrival of the President of the Republic, Danny Faure, that kickstarted the two-hour long parade and spectacle.

President Faure was formally greeted by Vice-President Vincent Meriton, Speaker of the National Assembly Nicholas Prea, president of the Court of Appeal Francis MacGregor, Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey, Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, and leader of government business in the National Assembly Charles Decomarmond.

Also present were the Commissioner of Police Kishnan Labonte and the Chief of Defence Forces Brigadier Leopold Payet.

The event was attended by the guest of honour for the National Day, secretary general of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland.

As customary, the national anthem rang loud and clear inside Stad Linite as the Seychelles flag was raised.

This was followed by a flypast display which was conducted in three formations.The first formation included civilian and military helicopters, three from local company Zil Air and another from the Indian naval forces.

They were subsequently followed by three Dornier aircraft belonging to the Islands Development Company (IDC) and the Seychelles Air Force, one of which was recently donated to the local air force by the Indian government.

The last formation was of two Beechcraft planes from IDC and one Beechcraft belonging to Zil Air.

Loud applause greeted all three displays but unfortunately – due to weather constraints – the public was unable to witness the much-anticipated parachutist landing.

Representatives of the Seychelles Inter-Faith Council (Sifco) provided a more sombre and reflective moment with messages promoting national unity.

Seychellois were asked to embrace what brings us together and the richness of our nation, to defend our liberties and culture and to save ourselves from violence, discord and the scourge of various addictions.

The parade march, the highlight of the event, included various local military and police platoons as well as civilian organisations such as Young Citizens and Scout who all saluted the president during the quick march.

Three platoons consisting of visiting forces from Mauritius, India and France were also marching in unison with the local platoons.

A spectacle of light, music and dancing swiftly followed which saw a cast of more than 200 performers and a choir of about 125 members.

Directed by John Pool, the poetic musical entitled 'Mon Pei' showcased the creation of Seychelles millions of years ago, the birth of Seychelles nation and its journey through choreography, artistic video projections, lights and special effect.

The show unfolded into 12 scenes such as the discovery of the island, Independence from Britain in 1976, the return of a multi-party state in 1993 and the new political landscape of co-habitation present since 2016.

The conclusion of the spectacle involved a crescendo of patriotic songs accentuated by David Andre's interpretation of his song 'Mon Pei', which had inspired the musical.

The audience were afterwards treated to a display of multi-coloured fireworks.

The accompanying photographs show highlights of the ceremony.

 

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