Santa Cruz de Tenerife will be the venue for the celebration of the Armed Forces Day in 2025as confirmed to the mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, the Chief of Defense Staff, Teodoro E. López Calderón.
On September 18, the city councilor wrote to the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and to Calderón to make the city available for the celebration of this day which, every year, exposes the dedication, effort and work of the members of the armed forces.
“For Santa Cruz, it is an honor that our invitation to celebrate Armed Forces Day here has been accepted. It is a promotional opportunity for the municipality, in addition to showing the rest of the state our organizational and coordination capacity to host large celebrations like this. This act strengthens our character as the capital of the Canary Islands,” said the mayor.
Bermúdez, moreover, thanked Lieutenant General Julio Salom Herrerahead of the Canary Islands Army Command, “the complicity and support shown to us to achieve this objective.”
In the letter sent by the Chief of Defense Staff to José Manuel Bermúdez, it is recalled that Armed Forces Day is celebrated every year the Saturday closest to May 30. Thus, a city is chosen for the celebration of the parade chaired by Their Majesties the Kings of Spain.
In addition to the military parade other activities are carried out on previous days such as static and dynamic displays of equipment, military music gatherings or exhibitions of personnel and equipment.
As stated in the letter from Admiral General López Calderón, “for all of the above, and after your letter sent to the Minister of Defense, on September 18 we considered celebrating Armed Forces Day in Santa Cruz de Tenerife “.
“Our goal – the letter continues – is to ensure that the Spanish people know their armed forces better and bring them closer to the society we serve. “Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with its infrastructure, tradition and relationship with the armed forces, would be a magnificent place to celebrate Armed Forces Day.”
López Calderón concludes by emphasizing that “for this reason it would be a privilege for us to share with all the inhabitants of Tenerife, and in particular with the chicharreros, a sample of the capabilities of our armed forces”.
Last year the capital of Asturias, Oviedo hosted this celebrationpresided over by Their Majesties the Kings of Spain, and during which a total of 3,250 soldiers and 147 vehicles participated in the land parade, which covered a route of approximately one kilometer.
