So I knew that the 24th August was an important date around here - well they named a road after it, Rue du 24 Août, and given I live by Rue du 11 Novembre, when you name a road after a date, it's important!
Cannes celebrates the anniversary of its liberation by allied forces on the 24th August 1944. The City of Cannes commemorated this day 69 years later with a parade all the way along the Rue d'Antibes and up to the Hôtel de Ville.
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| Leading the Parade |
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| Flags were flying |
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| I love how excited the man on the right looks! |
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| Looking rather stern... |
In honour of the fallen French and Americans, and there were Scottish representatives too, people filled the streets and watched as the parade went by. I've been in Paris on the
14 Juillet, Bastille day, which was an impressively long parade, but thought there was something about the more relaxed atmosphere of this smaller parade that was rather enjoyable. People lined the streets, waving the
bleu, blanc, rouge and there were a few American flags around as well and watched as the people and cars drove on by. Believe me, seeing people in kilts and playing bagpipes in the south of France was a bit surreal! All the people in the parade were joining in - those in the army cars that went past were smiling and waving, happy to stop and have their pictures taken with those on the streets.
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| I didn't hear Flower of Scotland though... |
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| Scotland the Brave? |
Unfortunately, the 24th August also meant another thing - the last of the
Festival d'Art Pyrotechnique. I said I would go to see each of the Cannes fireworks displays, but that didn't quite work out - I missed two of them but would happily tell you that Greece was my favourite. Unfortunately last night they announced that Italy won the vote, but I suppose they were second best out of the ones I saw. The French display in competition didn't really do Cannes justice, but they more than made up for it last night!
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| Bang! |
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| The sky was sparkling |
The closing ceremony worked with a circus theme, with music fitting the circus acts with clowns, plate spinners and a tiger tamer to name a few, and narrated by a typical ringmaster voice - yes, even in French they speak in the same way apparently! With fun music, plenty of colours and a variety of different fireworks, the closing show was by far my favourite.
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