Federation President attends ‘A Service of Celebration for Commonwealth Day’ at Westminster Abbey

On Monday 13^th March, Federation President Christos Karaolis was invited by the Royal Commonwealth Society to attend the annual ‘A Service of Celebration for Commonwealth Day’ at Westminster Abbey. In the presence of His Majesty the King Charles III and representatives from all 56 Commonwealth countries, the service celebrated the people and cultures of all of the Commonwealth nations. The theme for this year’s Commonwealth Day was ‘Forging a sustainable and peaceful common future.’ Representing Cyprus was the flag bearer, young UK Cypriot musician Theo Lucas, and Amalgamation Choir, an all-women choir that flew in especially from Cyprus.

Speaking at the service, the King recalled how much the Commonwealth had meant to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. He highlighted that the Commonwealth family of nations has a combined population of 2.6 billion, about a third of the world’s total. He went on to say that its collective efforts can advance its defining values of “peace and justice; tolerance, respect and solidarity; care for our environment and for the most vulnerable among us.”

Federation President Christos Karaolis said on the day that, “The annual service is an important event to mark the diversity and unity of the 56 nations of the Commonwealth and their contribution and commitment to the promotion of democracy, human rights and equality everywhere. It filled us all with pride to see Cyprus taking centre stage this year with the participation of Amalgamation Choir, who are the first Cypriot choir to perform at the event.”

The Amalgamation Choir was invited by the Royal Commonwealth Society to perform at the Service of Celebration for Commonwealth Day, at Westminster Abbey. The Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK strongly supported the Choir’s participation, and the costs were sponsored by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the A.G Leventis foundation, Stelios Philanthropic foundation and the Cyprus Handicrafts centre.

Watch the full service broadcasted by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001k2wn