National Day programme of events

Tomorrow National Day will be different, with the public advised against congregating in large groups.

In a bid to avoid large congregations National Day events have been cancelled or instead pre-recorded for broadcast on GBC.

The events are being organised by the SDGG, with Gibraltar Cultural Services collaborating and assisting the SDGG to ensure the smooth running of all events.

The National Day Celebrations begin on GBC TV at 10am and will run until 12 midnight with music, performances and the Political Rally.

The programme begins at 10am to 12.20pm with music and performances at the John Mackintosh Hall, with Shyanne Azzopardi presenting the show.

The show was recorded with an empty audience and just cameramen watching on, to ensure social distancing was being adhered to.

At 12.30pm to 12.55pm the Political Rally will be broadcast. This includes speeches and anthems, with this followed by analysis provided by GBC News Editor, Christine Vasquez, and her senior journalistic team.

At 2pm there will be GBC TV programming, at 4.45pm a Celebration of Opera organised by the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society will be broadcast.

American Soprano, Nadina Sierra and Spanish Tenor, Xavier Anduaga who were only available due to last minute cancellations from the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Paris’s National Opera respectively.

They will be accompanied by Pianist, David Aronson, long-time friend of Gibraltar and late of the Vienna State Opera.

The concert will feature the famous arias ‘O mio babbino caro’ and ‘Granada’.

After the Celebration of Opera, a re-run of the Madeira evacuation story ‘Atlantic Exile’ will be shown at 6pm.

The National Day Rock Concert will be held from 7pm until late into the evening. The concert will be interrupted for Newswatch at 8.30pm.

Some of the events cancelled include the fancy dress competition, usually held on the morning of National Day at the Piazza, as well as the Boat Procession, which was set to be held on Tuesday, September 8.

GCS has been able to go ahead with two other national week events, with these being the Frontline Workers exhibition at the GEMA Gallery and the Our Gibraltar exhibition held in the Fine Arts Gallery.

Both exhibitions saw limited people attend the launch, but people are encouraged to go visit the gallery spaces.

The Our Gibraltar exhibition will be open to the public until Friday, September 25 and the Frontline Workers exhibition will be open until Friday, October 2.