Cyprus to mark 66th independence anniversary with Nicosia military parade

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus will mark the 66th anniversary of its independence on Thursday with the traditional military parade in Nicosia and a series of commemorative events. The parade will begin at 11am on Iosif Hadjiosif avenue.

Military parade and international attendance

President Nikos Christodoulides will take the salute alongside Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias, National Guard chief Lieutenant General Emmanouel Theodorou and Greece’s Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Houpis.

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Officials from Greece, the United Kingdom, Egypt, France and the United States will attend, along with foreign dignitaries and attachés. Those attending will include UK Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, representatives of the armed forces of Egypt, France and the United States, and other officials.

The parade will feature motorised and marching units and aircraft from the National Guard, alongside contingents from the police, fire service, civil defence, forestry department and health services.

Memorial services and wreath-laying

Earlier in the morning, Christodoulides and House president Annita Demetriou attended a memorial service and laid wreaths at the imprisoned graves.

Dendias later joined them to lay wreaths at the statue of Archbishop Makarios III in the grounds of the presidential palace.

Dendias is subsequently due to meet Christodoulides. The president and Demetriou will later attend a memorial service at the Monument to Democracy and Resistance in the presidential palace park.

Diplomatic reception and naval visits

At 1pm, Christodoulides and his wife, first lady Philippa Karsera, will host a reception for members of the diplomatic and consular corps at the presidential palace.

Members of the public will also be able to visit two naval vessels docked at Larnaca port on Thursday.