Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, President of the Storting, on the balcony 17th May 2020. Photo: Storting.
What’s happening at the Storting on 17th May?
On Constitution Day 1821, the Storting sent a letter to the government of the day notifying it of its decision on the new Norwegian flag. This 17th May, exactly 200 years later, the Storting is displaying some of the original designs that were considered when Norway was in the process of choosing a flag of its own.
“We’re delighted that we have been able to mark this important anniversary. It provides us with a worthy backdrop for an unusual celebration,” said Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, President of the Storting.
The designs will be on display in the Storting’s Eidsvoll Gallery to mark the occasion. They will also be available online on the Storting’s social media channels. This will include live coverage on our Facebook page.
As is now the tradition, the President of the Storting will lay a wreath at the National Monument at Akershus Fortress, and at the statue of King Haakon VII. The President will also lay flowers at the statue of Christian Frederik in Eidsvolls plass outside the Storting.
Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the children’s parade has been cancelled for the second year running. This means that there will be no Oslo school children for the President to wave to from her balcony. Instead, two children from Ruseløkka school, which was due to lead this year’s parade, have been invited to the Storting to take part in the marking of the Norwegian flag’s bicentenary.
“The flag, along with the Norwegian Constitution which we celebrate every 17th May, is our most important national symbol. It stands for community, liberty and democracy. So today I hope that lots of people will wave their flags even more than usual, and reflect on the values that we are celebrating, and which we have a huge responsibility to look after,” Ms. Trøen said.
Photographs from the 17th May celebration will be published on Flickr.