The first National Day was so successful that the avalanche of people that spontaneously turned up could not fit into John Mackintosh Square. The Government then took the responsibility of providing some help organising the event, since it fostered the right to self-determination that the Gibraltarians had been demanding at the United Nations since 1963. Therefore, the Government declared the 10 September a public holiday and gave the SDGG a grant for them to administer. In 1993 the venue was changed to the larger Grand Casemates Square, until it was again changed in 1998 to the even larger Naval Ground.[citation needed]
The 10th National Day, held in 2001 included a speech by William Serfaty, the then leader of the SDGG, which stressed the themes of national identity, unity, resisting Spanish pressure and decolonisation.[2]
Changes to format
Subsequent National Days have comparatively been quieter affairs with fewer invited guests and shorter political speeches. In 2007 the running of the political rally was taken over by the Government from the SDGG. In July 2008 the Government announced they would change the format of National Day to take effect the same year. The main change was their decision to no longer organise a political rally. The reason given was to emphasise civic celebration of Gibraltar rather than political revindication. Other changes included relocating the main event to the smaller John Mackintosh Square from Grand Casemates Square, appointing the Mayor of Gibraltar to conduct the main event rather than any political leader, the presentation of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour and the reading of the Gibraltar National Day Declaration.[3]
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 was previously followed by the traditional release from atop the Parliament building of 30,000 red and white balloons, representing Gibraltar's population, which had featured on this day since 1992.[1] The balloon release tradition has been ended in 2016 due to the threat that it poses to wildlife, marine wildlife in particular.[4] In the meantime, the school choir leads the general public in the singing of the Gibraltar Anthem.[5]
In 2008, the Government announced that it would change the format of Gibraltar National Day celebrations with effect from this year. This followed the new Constitution in which Britain recognised Gibraltar's right to self-determination. The changes to the format were intended to emphasise Gibraltar's civic celebration rather than political revindication. There would be a gathering of the community at John Mackintosh Square for a collective celebratory event.
The SDGG returned from its state of inactivity and organised a political rally at Grand Casemates Square featuring the leader of the SDGG, and those of the Opposition political parties: Liberal Party of Gibraltar and the Progressive Democratic Party. The event was scheduled to last a maximum of 30–45 minutes, allowing those participating to attend the main event of civic functions held at John Mackintosh Square. Speeches were short (around 5 minutes) kept to the leader of the SDGG and those of the other three parties. The event was well attended and seen as a success.
The GSD Government did not send a representative as they considered the main rally held at John Mackintosh Square to be the only official one.[6]
Maurice Xiberras – for public services and services to politics.
Declaration
Since 2008, a Gibraltar National Day declaration is read by the Mayor of Gibraltar at a civic rally held at outside the City Hall. It was first read out publicly by Mayor Solomon Levy.[9]