BANSKA BYSTRICA, August 24, (WEBNOVINY) — President Ivan Gasparovic, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova, Deputy Speakers of Parliament Robert Fico and Milan Hort, and the representatives of fourteen embassies in Slovakia have confirmed their participation at the official part of the celebration of the 66th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) of 1944, which will take place at the SNS Monument in Banska Bystrica on Sunday. The event will be attended by several regional representatives as well as parliamentary deputies; however, Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulik has already announced that he will not come, informed Michaela Bucekova of the marketing department of the SNP Museum which is organizing the celebrations.
A concert of the State Opera House of Banska Bystrica will open this year’s celebrations, but the main part of the celebration will traditionally begin with an air show of the Slovak Air Force. The top representatives of the Slovak Republic and foreign delegations should take part in the following commemorative act. Speeches should be given by the president, prime minister, a representative of parliament, and a representative of the Slovak Association of Antifascist Fighters. After the ceremony, a cultural program on the premises of the SNP Monument will follow.
This year, the Culture Ministry supported the SNP Museum with a subsidy of EUR 15,000 for the organization of the SNP celebrations, which is less than one-tenth of the budget of last year’s celebrations. However, in 2009 the event was much larger, pompous, and lasted three days since it was the 65th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising.
SITA