In the months leading up to the date of the centenary on 11 November 2018, numerous commemorations were planned both in conjunction with the annual series of
Armistice Day,
Remembrance Day and
Veterans Day events and as part of commissions dedicated to marking the four-year centenary period. In Paris, France, over seventy heads of state and government attended an international ceremony at the
Arc de Triomphe, followed by the opening of the inaugural
Paris Peace Forum. In London, a service of thanksgiving was hosted at
Westminster Abbey. Other military ceremonies took place elsewhere throughout the United Kingdom and in key members of the
Commonwealth which participated in the war, while similar commemorations were held in Europe and across the world.
Formal peace negotiations only took place during the
Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and 1920. With three extensions to the armistice having already been made, a state of peace was ratified with a series of treaties between the Allies and the former
Central Powers, beginning with the
Treaty of Versailles on 10 January 1920.[2][3]
Following the end of the war, 11 November was designated a memorial day initially dedicated to the anniversary of the armistice and the military dead of
World War I, known as
Armistice Day. The first such observance took place in 1919.[4] It has since been renamed in several countries under different names (e.g.
Remembrance Day in
Commonwealth countries and
Veterans Day in the United States).
In France, the French government's Mission Centenaire committee was responsible for organizing the centenary schedule.[6] The
government of the United Kingdom announced that it would allocate a £19 million package for the centenary, with an additional £10 million being added to the annual budget made to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.[7]
The schedule for the centenary commemorations included an international commemorative event at the
Arc de Triomphe followed by an inaugural peace forum, as elaborated by French President
Emmanuel Macron.[8] Around 10,000 police officers, gendarmes and soldiers were placed on duty in the lead up to the events.[9] Invited guests included German Chancellor
Angela Merkel, US President
Donald Trump, and Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
On 10 November 2018, Macron and Merkel visited the
Glade of the Armistice at
Compiègne, where they laid a wreath, unveiled a reconciliatory plaque and signed a book of remembrance in a replica of the railway carriage where the Armistice was signed. The visit was symbolic as it marked the first time that French and German leaders had visited the site since 1945.[10][11] Macron later held a bilateral meeting with Trump at the
Élysée Palace, which took place a day after Trump tweeted that "Europe should first pay its fair share" of NATO defence expenditures in response to the former's suggestions for a continental European army.[12][13]
Dignitaries arrived in Paris for an official dinner to be hosted on 10 November 2018 at the
Musée d'Orsay, as well as visits to national memorials.[18][17]
Ceremony
International Ceremony for the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice
On the morning of 11 November, guests were received by Macron at the
Élysée Palace before departing in unison.[19] Trump, Putin and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu used their own transportation due to security concerns—ultimately showing up late to the venue—in contrast to other guests who were taken in coaches.[19][20][21]
The ceremony, officially titled the International Ceremony for the Centenary of the 1918 Armistice (French: Cérémonie internationale du Centenaire de l'Armistice du 11 novembre 1918),[22] began roughly after 11:00
CET, following a presidential inspection of troops, a roll call of French soldiers killed in the preceding year and an army choir rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.[23][24][25]
The event included a performance by cellist
Yo-Yo Ma, who played the sarabande from
Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor. A group of testimonies dating to 11 November 1918 were read out by a group of teenage students in between, after which Ma performed the second movement of
Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello with French violinist
Renaud Capuçon.[26] Beninese musician
Angélique Kidjo sang a variation of the song Blewu by
Bella Bellow, in homage to colonial troops.[27][28][28] Macron then delivered a speech in which he denounced nationalism as a "betrayal of patriotism", and warned of the resurgence of "old demons".[29][24] The
European Union Youth Orchestra followed with a performance of
Ravel's Bolero.[30]
The end of the service included a rekindling of the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier, where Macron also laid a wreath. The "
Sonnerie aux morts" and a minute of silence, concluding with the "Cessez-le-feu" bugle call, marked the end of the ceremony.[31][19]
Over 120 foreign representatives, including 72 heads of state and government and members of several international organizations, attended the commemorations in Paris.[6][34][9] According to the French presidential office, only countries "which sent troops or workers to the European theaters of war" were invited to be represented.[35]
On 4 November 2018, French President
Emmanuel Macron and his spouse
Brigitte Macron hosted German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the
Strasbourg Cathedral, marking the official start of the week-long commemorative period in France. A concert was held in their presence, and the flags of France, Germany and the
European Union were hoisted outside the cathedral.[57]
In the lead up to the centenary itself, Macron carried out a "memorial tour", visiting symbolic locations on the Western Front, which subsequently drew anger from voters over what the Financial Times described as his "perceived metropolitan disregard for their pocketbook concerns."[58] On 6 November, Macron announced that writer
Maurice Genevoix, author of numerous books on the First World War, would be posthumously listed on the
Panthéon in 2019, alongside 14 French civilians and soldiers who participated in the war.[59]
On 9 November, Macron and UK Prime Minister
Theresa May jointly paid respects at the
Thiepval Memorial in northern France. May also laid wreaths at the graves of
John Parr and
George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last British soldiers killed during the war, during a visit to the
St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Belgium. Her wreaths were engraved with handwritten messages, invoking wartime poems to express gratitude to the dead for being "staunch to the end".[60]
Marshal Pétain, when he led France during the Second World War, was complicit in profound crimes which were recognized, and the responsibility of the French state was recognized. [...] I forgive nothing, but I erase nothing from our history.
A separate planned tribute to
Philippe Pétain, who served in the
Battle of Verdun and later headed Nazi-aligned
Vichy France, at the
Hôtel des Invalides alongside other World War I marshals, was reported by French media in October 2018. In response, the office of the Élysée said it was not part of the official schedule and did not understand how Pétain "ended up" on the list of tributes.[67] Macron in particular described Pétain as a "great soldier", while remarking that he made "disastrous choices" during the Nazi occupation.[58] The incident led to backlash from
French Jews, the opposition and on social media, ultimately resulting in the tribute's withdrawal.[68]
Three
Femen members staged a protest at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 10 November welcoming "war criminals",[n 3] and were arrested by French police.[73][74] In a later statement, Femen listed Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as examples of this description, along with Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, who was not invited.[72] The
motorcade carrying Trump to the Arc de Triomphe on the day of the ceremony passed by a topless woman who ran towards it and was quickly dragged out by French police; Femen later claimed responsibility.[75]
Anti-Trump demonstrations were held at the
Place de la République in response to the US president's visit.[76]
The seating arrangement caused a major controversy in Serbia. As the Serbian army had a pivotal role in forcing both Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary out of the war, with Serbia itself having the most extensive casualties compared to its population number and a
historical friendship with France, the positioning of Serbian president
Aleksandar Vučić away from the frontline seating areas in place of representatives of countries which were on the opposing side in the war or didn't even exist as separate states at the time, was taken as an insult in Serbia.[77][78][79]
United Kingdom
10,000 torches were lit in the moat of the
Tower of London, in an artistic installation entitled Beyond the Deepening Shadow which would repeat nightly until Armistice Day (11 November).[80] The Shrouds of the Somme, designed by artist Rob Heard and comprising 72,396 shrouded figures representing all servicemen from the British Commonwealth with no known grave, was laid out at the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, being on display from 8 to 18 November 2018.[81][60]
Members of the public during a service in
Sheffield
As
Remembrance Sunday in 2018 fell on 11 November, the
National Service of Remembrance was held concurrently with other commemorative events in Europe. The service at
the Cenotaph in London began at 11:00
GMT, with a
two-minute silence being observed, after which the
Prince of Wales then laid the first wreath on behalf of the Queen.[54][86] Thousands were able to pay respect to relatives and soldiers killed in the war during a march past the memorial.[87] Despite ongoing renovations, the
Big Ben rang eleven times at 12:30 GMT.[88][89]
German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was invited to attend as a special guest, becoming the first German leader to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph.[29] The invitation was reportedly planned as early as September 2018.[90] The
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport described his presence as "a symbol of the friendship that exists between the two countries today".[86] A memorial service was held in the evening at
Westminster Abbey, which was attended by members of the royal family and Prime Minister
Theresa May. During the service, Steinmeier read out a passage from 1 St John 4:7–11 in German.[29]
In Australia, a
Remembrance Day service was held at the
Australian War Memorial in
Canberra, alongside a national minute of silence in remembrance of Australian soldiers who fought and died in overseas conflicts. Prime Minister
Scott Morrison addressed a crowd of more than 12,000 attending the ceremony. An extension of the
Anzac Memorial in
Sydney was opened to the public for the occasion.[92][93] In addition, over a thousand people attended a commemoration at the Australian National Memorial in the French town of
Villers-Bretonneux.[92]
In New Zealand, a national service took place at the
Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in
Wellington, which was organized as part of the wider New Zealand WW100 commemorations. A 100-gun salute was held at the Wellington waterfront, and two minutes of silence were observed at 11:00
NZDT, followed by a cacophony of noise replicating how the public initially reacted to the news of the Armistice a century prior. Governor-General
Dame Patsy Reddy and Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern gave speeches at the event.[94][95][96]
In India, a memorial service was held at the
Delhi War Cemetery, where Indian and British delegates laid wreaths. Conservative MP
Tom Tugendhat led the British delegation and was joined by Sir
Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, and defence attaché Brigadier Mark Goldsack.[97] In a series of tweets, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi paid tribute to Indian troops and pledged to "further an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood".[98][99]
In Ghana, a luncheon was organized by the British High Commission and the Ghanaian government on the occasion of Remembrance Day. On the same day, President
Nana Akufo-Addo and a group of ex-servicemen observed a two-minute silence.[100][101] Earlier, Akufo-Addo participated in a wreath-laying ceremony on 2 November at the Christiansborg War Cemetery in
Accra, along with Prince Charles, his wife
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and
Prince Edward, who were touring the country at the time.[102]
Ceremonies in Kenya and Zambia were scheduled for 25 November 2018; German forces fighting in
Northern Rhodesia only received news of the armistice on 14 November 1918, and eventually surrendered later that month.[103][104] In
Voi, the Commonwealth War Cemetery hosted a small ceremony, which was attended by British and German diplomats; a Kenyan army bugler played the
Last Post during the ceremony, and wreaths were laid by a Kenyan general and some local and international visitors.[105] The Zambian government sponsored a centenary event in the town of
Mbala organized by the national tourism agency, saying that attraction to the region would unlock the "tourism and investment potential of
Northern Province".[104][106]
Commemorative services took place in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Romania, and Russia.[108][29]
Belgium
National commemorations were held in the capital of
Brussels. In an address, King
Philippe pledged to keep "the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for us and the values for which they fought", and to "engage together in building a world of peace." A dove and 11 pigeons were released during the memorial service.[109]
In
Ypres, a series of tributes to Commonwealth veterans was attended by the Minister-President of Flanders,
Geert Bourgeois.[110] The
Last Post, traditionally performed nightly at the
Menin Gate since 1928, was additionally played at 11:00
CET to mark the centenary.[110]
Minuscule individual events were held, including a religious service at the
Berlin Cathedral, and an exhibition showcasing works by 31 international artists representing countries involved in WWI peace negotiations.[n 4] Public memorization in modern Germany was muted, mainly owing to the defeat of the
German Empire and the chronology of events resulting from the
aftermath of the war.[114][115]
Hungary
To mark the centenary, the
Hungarian National Bank released a series of collector coins on 16 October 2018, which included a silver variant with a face value of 10,000
HUF and a non-ferrous metal variant with a fifth (2,000 HUF) of the face value.[116]
Ireland
A service was organized at
Glasnevin Cemetery in
Dublin, and attended by President
Michael D. Higgins, who was to be sworn in for a second term on the same day, along with representatives of at least 47 countries. The Last Post was played during the ceremony.[117][118]
A ceremony was held at the
Gëlle Fra monument in the capital during the late afternoon, in the presence of
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Grand Duchess
Maria Teresa, as well as prime minister
Xavier Bettel, who also paid tribute to war casualties.[121]
In remarks made during a weekly
Angelus address,
Pope Francis appealed for a rejection of a "culture of war", quoting
Benedict XV, who served as pope during the majority of the First World War, and reflecting on the occasion of
St. Martin's Day, which also fell on 11 November. The bells at
St. Peter's Basilica were tolled in the afternoon in unison with other church bells across Europe.[126]
President Donald Trump proposed that a
military parade at the Capitol be held on 10 November to mark the centenary, in admiration of France's
Bastille Day military parade (which Trump attended as a guest in 2017). However, Trump cancelled the proposed event in August 2018 over cost concerns, with estimates that the parade would have cost as much as US$92 million.[129][130][131]
^Ali Bongo, the then-President of Gabon, was unable to attend as initially scheduled after suffering a stroke.[46]
^In a statement, Femen specifically listed Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as examples of this description, along with
Mohammed bin Salman, who was not invited.[72]
"The Latest: Leaders discuss Ukraine elections at Paris meet". Associated Press News. 12 November 2018.
Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023. Ambassadors, Romanian army officers and others laid wreaths at a war memorial as Romania marked the end of World War I a century ago.
"99 państw świętuje zakończenie I wojny światowej" [99 countries celebrate the end of World War I]. Interia (in Polish). 11 November 2018.
Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022. Na czele polskiej delegacji stał minister spraw zagranicznych Jacek Czaputowicz. [The Polish delegation was headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz.]