Youth, colour, life

To mark the 60th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth, a flag-raising ceremony will be held at Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters at Marlborough House in London on 27 April 2009 to the accompaniment of the drum beats of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Emma-Jane Vickers, aged 14, will read the London Declaration, which was signed on 26 April 1949. The Declaration was agreed by Heads of Government from Australia, Britain, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa, and the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs. It paved the way for republics to maintain their links with the Commonwealth, and heralded a ‘free and equal association’ which recognised the then King, George VI, as Head of this unique family of nations.

The next day, 28 April 2009, Her Majesty The Queen, as Head of the Commonwealth, will host a reception at Buckingham Palace for representatives from the 53 countries of the association. Young people will be to the fore, in line with the 2009 anniversary theme: ‘thecommonwealth@60 – serving a new generation’.

On both occasions, anniversary music specially composed by British musician Paul Carroll will be performed. Soloist Steven Leas of South Africa will sing ‘Harmonic Spaces’ on 27 April at Marlborough House; while the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the London Voices choir will perform the new Commonwealth Cantata at Buckingham Palace on 28 April.

“Both these events will be vibrant and colourful celebrations of an organisation – 60 years young – which aspires to meet the global challenge of its times, for the peoples of its times,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.

Key Links:

• Celebrating the commonwealth@60