Image: August 5 events in Croatia marking Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day/MORH
August 5 events in Croatia will include official ceremonies, commemorations, concerts, military displays and cultural programmes marking Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day and the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm.
The main national ceremony will take place in Knin, while Split, Dubrovnik, Drniš and Zadar have also prepared programmes for residents and visitors. Some commemorative events began before August 5, with programmes in several cities extending across two or three days.
August 5 events in Croatia begin with the central ceremony in Knin
The programme in Knin begins at 6:30 am with the traditional reveille through the city streets. The route will lead from the 4th Guards Brigade Pauci barracks through Kralja Tomislava Street, Trg Oluje, Dr. Franje Tuđmana Street and Dr. Ante Starčevića Square before finishing at the bridge over the Krka River.
A Mass will be celebrated at the Church of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Covenant at 7:30 am.
At 9 am, representatives of the families of fallen, missing and deceased Croatian veterans, disabled war veterans, wartime commanders, veterans’ associations, senior state officials and representatives of counties and cities will lay wreaths at the Storm 95 Croatian Victory Monument on Dr. Ante Starčevića Square.
The central ceremony will begin at the NK Dinara stadium at 9:40 am. Parts of the programme taking place at Knin Fortress will be shown on video screens at the stadium and on the main city square.
At the fortress, representatives of Croatian veterans and victims of the Homeland War will take part in the traditional raising of the Croatian flag. The ceremony will be accompanied by the national anthem, the ringing of Knin’s church bells and ceremonial gun salutes.
The programme at the stadium will include official addresses, a reading of the history of Operation Storm and the names of those killed or reported missing during the operation. Their names will be read by the sons of fallen Croatian veterans.
At the same time, 245 Croatian Armed Forces cadets and Police Academy students will appear at the fortress, symbolising the 245 Croatian veterans killed or reported missing during Operation Storm.
The central ceremony will conclude with a presentation of the capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces and police, followed by an aerial programme.
Central Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day programme in Knin
A reception for marathon runners, cyclists and motorcyclists will be held on Dr. Ante Starčevića Square at noon.
Visitors will be able to view a tactical and technical display of military equipment and weapons along Dr. Franje Tuđmana Street from 8 am until 4 pm. Traditional military bean stew will be distributed between 11:30 am and 2 pm.
The full-day programme will conclude with a concert organised by the City of Knin on Dr. Ante Starčevića Square at 9 pm.
The central ceremony will also be broadcast live by Croatian Radiotelevision.
Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day programme in Split
Split is marking the national holiday and the anniversary of Operation Storm with a two-day programme.
Commemorations begin on August 4 with wreath-laying ceremonies at Lovrinac Cemetery and in Croatian Veterans Park. A Mass of thanksgiving will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Health at 7 pm.
Later in the evening, Croatian veterans carrying wartime flags will take part in a ceremonial parade through the city centre. They will be accompanied by the Stjepan Radić brass band and the Split City Majorettes.
The central programme on the Riva begins at 8:30 pm, followed by a concert by the revue orchestra Domovini s ljubavlju at 9 pm.
From 10 am until 8 pm, visitors will be able to tour the Croatian Navy missile boat RTOP-12 Kralj Dmitar Zvonimir on the West Coast.
The Croatian Armed Forces information zone will be open from 10 am until 6 pm, offering visitors the opportunity to speak with military personnel and learn more about military careers, education and professional development.
Among the most prominent August 5 events in Croatia will be a concert by Prljavo kazalište on the Split Riva, beginning at 9:30 pm. A fireworks display from St Nicholas Pier is scheduled for 10:30 pm.
The opera Nikola Šubić Zrinjski by Ivan pl. Zajc will also be performed at 9 pm on the sports ground of the Tourism and Hospitality School.
Dubrovnik marks the anniversary with exhibitions and a concert
Dubrovnik has organised a two-day commemorative programme in cooperation with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Homeland War Museum Dubrovnik, the Marin Držić Theatre and the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.
The programme begins on August 3 at Fort Imperial on Mount Srđ. The exhibition Operation Storm in Banovina in 1995, by author Varina Jurica Turk, will open at 7:30 pm.
On August 5 at 9 pm, the virtual exhibition The Road to Freedom 1991–1995 will be presented in front of the Church of St Blaise on Stradun.
A ceremonial concert by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra will follow at the same location. The orchestra will be conducted by Ivan Hut and joined by Klapa Ragusa for a programme of Croatian patriotic songs.
Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day programme and evening performances in Drniš
The programme in Drniš begins at 7:40 am with a reveille performed by the Drniš City Wind Orchestra on Poljana city square.
Wreaths will be laid at the central memorial cross in front of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary at 8 am.
The main ceremony and cultural entertainment programme will begin at 8 pm on Poljana city square. Performers will include the Drniš City Wind Orchestra, Klapa Drniš and the Nino Mrčela Band.
Operation Storm anniversary exhibition and concert on Zadar Forum
Commemorations in Zadar began on August 4 with wreath-laying and candle-lighting at the central cross in the city cemetery in memory of Croatian veterans killed during the Homeland War.
The exhibition In Memory of Operation Storm was also opened at the Rector’s Palace.
The programme continues with a ceremonial concert on the Roman Forum at 8:30 pm. Croatian flags will be distributed before the concert.
This year’s Arbanasi od srca pjesmom concert also marks the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Arbanasi community in Zadar.
Performers include Đani Maršan, Bepo Matešić, Zoran Jelenković, Albino Pino Kotlar, Vili Kalmeta, Krešimir Perović, Leo Perović, Šime Ivčić, Šime Jelenković, Martina Stipčević Petani, Mario Petani, Nika Pastuović and Duo Gitman.
Klapa Arbanasi, Klapa Donat, Klapa Diadora and Klapa Munita will also perform a selection of songs associated with Zadar and the Arbanasi community.
August 5 events in Croatia taking place across the country
The programmes in Knin, Split, Dubrovnik, Drniš and Zadar form part of a wider series of August 5 events in Croatia marking Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day and the anniversary of Operation Storm.
Official organisers have invited residents to display Croatian flags and take part in the commemorations in a dignified manner.
