Day of Re-establishment of Lithuania’s Independence to be commemorated for the 32nd time

Press release, 8 March 2022

This year, we will enjoy the celebration of the Day of Re-establishment of Lithuania’s Independence for the 32nd time. Back on 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas adopted the Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania.

The festive day will begin with the flower-laying ceremony at the Žinia Monument commemorating 11 March 1990 in Independence Square, Vilnius, at 9 a.m.

The Seimas Hall of the Act of 11 March will host the commemoration of the 32nd Anniversary of the Re-establishment of Lithuania’s Independence and the award ceremony of the National Independence Grant. The event will start at 10 a.m.

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, will open the solemn sitting by her welcome address. Next, the floor will pass to Zita Šličytė, Member of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania; Dr Norbertas Černiauskas, historian; Saulius Pečeliūnas, Chair of the Commission for Awarding the Commemorative Badge Žinia and Signatory to the Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania; Dr Zenonas Butkus, Chair of the Commission for Awarding the National Independence Grant; and Dr Marijušas Antonovičius, winner of the National Independence Grant.

The ceremony of hoisting the flags of the three Baltic States will take place in Independence Square at 12 a.m.

Right afterwards, the Guard of Honour of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Lithuanian Armed Forces Band will parade along Gedimino Avenue from Independence Square to Cathedral Square. They will be followed by the march Road to Restoration of the Independence with participants carrying metres-long flags of Lithuania and Ukraine.

The Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union will hold a swearing-in ceremony for new members in Independence Square at 2.30 p.m.

The events will be broadcast live on the television channel Seimas – tiesiogiai (Seimas Live), the Seimas website, the Seimas’ accounts on Facebook and YouTube, and the Lithuanian National Radio and Television.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Visitor Centre of the Seimas will have open hours for visitors to watch documentaries, view thematic exhibitions and permanent displays, and take part in entertaining quizzes (Visitor Centre of the Seimas, Gedimino Avenue 60, Vilnius).

A detailed programme of the events of the Day of Re-establishment of Lithuania’s Independence.

Find out more on the 11th of March here.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: egle[email protected]