National Day celebration - All set to shine at Stad Linite on June 29 |26 June 2019
As usual the parade will be the highlight of the National/Independence Day anniversary celebrations
On Saturday June 29, Seychelles will celebrate its National/Independence Day anniversary. According to the National Celebrations Committee, the preparations for the day are on target and all is set for a big celebration.
The coordinators of the National Day celebrations, Penny Belmont, Gerard Lafortune and Galen Bresson, ASP Antoine Desnousse and Lieutenant Colonel Luther met the press yesterday evening to give an update on the preparations for the day.
General programme
Mr Lafortune, coordinator for the parade, said the program will kick off at 10am with the national fair behind the Stad Linite. At 4.30pm, all entertainment outside the stadium will stop allowing the public to be seated latest by 5.15pm in time for the start of the official programme at 5.30pm with the parade.
The ceremony will include the arrival of the President and the Guest of Honour; the military parade which will also include a civilian group and platoons from France and India together with our national platoons; a fly pass by military planes; parachute jumps by the French military; blessings by a representative of SIFCO; a show of 30 minutes by SNYC followed by fireworks inside the stadium.
The programme will end around 7pm when the public will be able to enjoy themselves again in the fair.
“This year the 29th falls on a Saturday. I make an appeal to all the public to come celebrate our National Day as buses will be available till midnight. Buses will be available from the central bus station to Stad Linite during the day,” said Mr Lafortune.
Parade
Lieutenant Colonel Luther noted that this year five platoons will participate in the parade – one platoon from the army quarters Bel Eau, two platoons from the Seychelles Coast Guard, one platoon from the Seychelles Air Force and one civilian platoon. The French and the Indians will also participate in the parade and they are still waiting for the participation of the Mauritian platoon.
Youth show
Ms Belmont, coordinator for the youth show, stated that “everything is going on fine. Rehearsal with the youth started in April and we are now in the finishing line. We have 500 youths who are participating in the display and some 250 who will be participating in the parade. This year the youth from La Digue also will be participating with us and we have introduced some new concepts such as gymnasium, bicycles, among others. We are trying to bring something different”.
National fair
Mr Bresson, coordinator of the National fair, stated that there will be more than 100 stalls on that day behind the Stad Linite. “There will be food stalls, agricultural products accessories, clothing, non-alcohol and even some organisations will be displaying their services. The fair will be open to the public as from 10am and a host of local artists will be performing live such as Group Metis, Ron Payet, group Ravann, Leverage Band, group Saturn, Jean Ally, Joe Samy, Keven Rath, Jean-Paul Cecile, Michel Dan Ally, Thomas, Essay Quatre, Brian Matombe, Band Makadan, Group Sunshine, John Wirtz, Tipol, Florette Botsoie, Berno and the L’echo Band and the night will end with the Tsunami singers - Joseph Sinon, Simon Amade, Ruben, Philip Toussaint, Fugitive. After the official programme, the public will be entertained with some moutya, kanmtole and other local music.”
Traffic
The most important part of the day is traffic management. ASP Desnousse shared that as usual the public is being asked to cooperate with the police to ease the traffic flow.
“We will be closing the road at Roche Caiman so that people can have access to parking. People will have access to the parking through Ste Therese or Plaisance. All people coming from the south will be guided by police officers and there will be different types of parking – red parking will be in front of the stadium, yellow parking will be in front of NSC Hall and blue will be at the Palais de Sports car park. We have another parking at the cricket field and this will be open if we see that there is a need. This year as there will be no National Show, we expect that the traffic situation will not be as heavy as before. There will be enough officers on that day to ensure the security of the public and the cars to prevent vandalism.”
One important notice is that all vendors will have to remove all their parked vehicles inside the stadium before 4.30pm and another warning from the Police is that people caught with alcohol outside the stadium will be severely dealt with. There will be a strong police presence from 9am till the end of the programme ensuring safety for all.
Buses coming from the North will drop passengers at the Ste Anne Jetty whereas buses coming from the South will disembark passengers at the south gate facing Roche Caiman.
As from 5.30pm the Bois de Rose-Francis Rachel roads to the Stad Linite will be closed to the public. This will allow the VVIP to come to the activity on time. “But once the President and the Guest of Honour have entered the stadium, the road will be opened again. We advise people going towards Providence to use the alternative road as there will be lots of movement on the Roche Caiman road,” concluded ASP Desnousse.
