Let’s celebrate a united Europe massively on Europe Day!
To tackle Euroscepticism and (increased) nationalism, and to give our youth a bigger platform to speak out, the EU and its 28 member countries should stimulate the celebration of peace and freedom now for 73 years, by facilitating the youth to organize mass events on “Europe Day” in all 28 capitals!
And let’s make Europe Day a free public holiday! All EU member countries have their own “National Day”, like Bastille Day in France, but the EU has nothing to celebrate their successes including the 70+ years of peaceful coexistence in the EU by “Unity in Diversity”.
The EU needs massive Europe-wide festivities on Europe Day:
— To celebrate the EU project, for giving us peace, freedom and prosperity
— To tackle euroscepticism and (increasing) nationalism
— By offering massive street-festivals on Europe Day in all 28 EU capitals
— Involving our youth to organize these events
— And to make Europe Day a free EU public holiday to join in these celebrations
Annual Street Festivals on Europe Day:
— For all EU citizens of all age groups and of all levels of education and backgrounds, massive festivities to be organized every year by thousands, and to be joined and watched by millions.
— Street festivals in the center of each capital city of all 28 EU member countries, to be organized by the youth of the respective EU host country.
— With a carefully curated artistic program around European values showing the diversity that Europe has to offer.
— The festivals to take place annually on “Europe Day” (9th May), starting in 2020, which is 75 years after the end of WWII.
— Let’s call these festivals: the “Europeace Parade”, to bring back to life the most important reason to establish (and sustain and improve) the EU.
Europeace Parades 2020:
— The parades to be an amalgamation of the well known parades, with a carefully curated artistic program around the European values, on decorated “floats” (flatbed trailers), moving at footpace through the main streets of the 28 EU capitals, with music or exhibitions on each trailer, intermingling with marching bands, performing arts groups, enormous puppet-characters, and choirs etc.
— Starting the parade in the afternoon for the families and elderly (to watch the floats), followed by a parade for the 18+ youth (to walk with the floats).
— To demonstrate the country- specific expression of peace and its local identity, each EU member state to be invited to have one float (decorated truck) representing their country, in all of the 28 parades that day.
— To attract the public to watch or participate, also in other countries, the parades to be filled with (local) national, cultural and historical content , focused on the theme of the values of Europe and its diversity, and on the theme of 75 years of peace (1945-2020), freedom and prosperity.
— Furthermore, well known celebrities to be invited (like DJ Tiesto), and fireworks, speeches from prime ministers and TV coverage etc. will add to the attractiveness of the parades.
— Sponsoring organizations to build and ride the decorated trailers, for instance: radio stations, the EU Commission, EU member countries, NGO’s, representatives of other parades etc.
— Such parades earn millions for the SME’s in the parade cities.
About us:
— The Europeace Parade Foundation (EPF) is currently under formation with the aim 1) to initiate and promote this initiative in order to obtain support from all parties who are necessary to make this initiative work, and 2) to continue supervising the future parades and to safeguard its aims and principles, as the coordination center (secretariat) for the organizers towards all parade partners.
— In order to develop and strengthen their appreciation for the EU project, including its values, principles, goals and agenda, it is proposed that these annual parades be led and organized by youth organizations in all 28 member countries and be supported by the EU in Brussels and by the local governments.
— Guidelines to be drafted by the organizers about the mission, content, structure, and finances of the annual parades in all of the 28 member countries. The guidelines should be within the confinements of the EU and local governments. These draft guidelines to be discussed and agreed with the participating youth/student organizations in all EU member states.
— The annual Europeace Parade in all EU nations should be a not-for-profit activity. Any excess funds to be allocated to fund youth projects.
— There are several options for covering the costs of the parades. For instance, German law requires you to choose between a political event, in which case the government pays for most costs (such as security), or a commercial event, in which case all costs to be borne by the event organizers. The first option is chosen by the Zug der Liebe Street Festival in Berlin (the successor of the Love Parade). The second option is chosen by most other parade organizers, whereby sponsors and participants will fund the costs. The intensity of sponsor promotion to be stated in the parade’s guidelines and to be at the discretion of the organizers (and the EU and local governments).
— Subsidies from EU and EU member countries, regions and municipalities to be applied for.
