Today, Antigua and Barbuda will hold their annual wreath-laying ceremony to honor their national heroes as part of the Independence anniversary celebrations.

The ceremony will take place at Heroes Park in Tomlinsons and will see the participation of senior government officials, heads of the police and defense force, as well as members of the diplomatic corps, who will lay wreaths in honor of national heroes.

During the ceremony, the Governor General, Sir Rodney Williams, will make a brief speech in which he is expected to highlight the contributions of the National Heroes to nation-building and their exemplary role for current and future generations.

Antigua and Barbuda has six National Heroes including Sir V.C. Bird, Dame Nellie Robinson, King Court Tackey – Prince Klaas, Sir George Walter, Sir Lester Bird, and the only living National Hero, Sir A. Vivian Richards.

Wreaths will be laid by various individuals and groups including Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Festivals Minister Daryll Matthew, the VC Bird Family, the Walter Family, the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Commission,

TOR Memorial School, and the family of Sir Lester Bird. Heads of the Diplomatic missions in St. John’s including Carmen Velasquez de Visbal of Venezuela, Raquel Jacobo Jaar of the Dominican Republic, Zhang Yanling of the People’s Republic of China, and Lindsy Thompson of the United Kingdom will also lay wreaths. Chief of Defense Staff, Colonel Telbert Benjamin, and Commissioner of Police, Atlee Rodney will also lay wreaths during the ceremony.