Liberation Day events – Guernsey

Guernsey’s Committee for Education, Sport & Culture has announced two new events to be held in the town on Liberation Day this year, in response to community feedback.

A full static display of all the military vehicles, vintage cars and tractors from the cavalcade will take place along the seafront in St. Peter Port from 3-5pm on Liberation Day for the community to inspect and enjoy. That will be followed by a 1940s-themed concert on Crown Pier between 5pm-9pm, with food and drink available followed by the traditional fireworks display.

With the annual parade and church service in the morning, and music and entertainment at Castle Cornet, with free entry all day from 11am – 4pm, it means islanders can enjoy activities in Town throughout the day if they wish.

Events in Town will supplement the fantastic community events being organised across a majority of parishes, which have proved so popular in the last couple of years and continue to be supported by the Committee via a grant to help fund them.

The Committee decided to organise two further events in Town after considering feedback from a recent public survey it commissioned. The survey sought to understand the community’s views on a wide-range of questions relating to Liberation Day, including what matters most to them when deciding whether to attend an official event, which events they preferred, and why they choose to commemorate the day. The cavalcade was respondents’ favourite attraction and the survey also showed people’s preference for live music, food and drink and a focal point for celebrations. The two additional events in Town respond directly to this feedback.

A total of 1,944 responses were received..

Final plans for the 2023 cavalcade have also been confirmed by the Cavalcade Committee, which includes representatives from the Guernsey Military Vehicle Group, Guernsey Old Car Club and The Vintage and Classic Tractor Club.

Following feedback from Cavalcade drivers, it was clear that last year’s route, which included some tight turns and steep hills caused challenges for some of the vintage vehicles. This meant that some vehicles broke down and had to drop out without completing the route.

As a result, the Cavalcade Director along with the three groups involved has reluctantly accepted that the wear on the vehicles, none of which are getting any younger, is too much and the solution is to settle on a route which is less stressful for the vehicles. The Cavalcade Committee has therefore revised the 2023 route which will now be a mainly coastal route commencing in Torteval and ending in St. Peter Port. Unfortunately, this means that the Cavalcade will not travel past the parish events in St Martin’s, St Saviour’s or St Andrew’s.