Greek Independence Day Grand Military Parade

The Greek Independence Day Grand Military Parade is an annual state ceremony held in Athens on 25 March, commemorating the Greek uprising against Ottoman rule that began in 1821. Established as a national holiday by royal decree in 1838, the date also coincides with the Orthodox feast of the Annunciation.

The day begins with a doxology at the Metropolitan Cathedral, followed by a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath Parliament. At dawn a twenty-one-gun salute is fired from Lycabettus Hill and the flag is raised on the Acropolis. The grand military parade begins at eleven on Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, passes the Hellenic Parliament at Syntagma Square, and turns down Panepistimiou Street past the neoclassical Academy of Athens and the National Library to Omonoia. The parade lasts approximately ninety minutes and includes infantry, mechanised units, marching bands, and the Presidential Guard — the Evzones — in their traditional fustanella. The Hellenic Air Force flies past in formation above Syntagma, with F-16s and Rafales launched from the Tanagra airbase north of the city.

The President of the Republic and the political and military leadership attend at Syntagma Square.