Summer Medal Parade in Cyprus

At the ceremony, the blue berets who have served with the mission in Cyprus for at least 90 days receive the UNFICYP medal (founded by the United Nations in 1964) in recognition of their peacekeeping activities. The soldiers participating in the event marched to occupy their designated places in the formation by live music, which enhanced the ceremonial atmosphere of the parade. The military band of the British Royal Navy serving in Cyprus was playing the Rákóczi March as the peacekeepers of the Hungarian contingent went to their place.

In her speech delivered at the ceremony, Lisa M. Buttenheim, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UNFICYP mission assessed the political aspects of the mission, pointing to the recent achievements in normalizing the bilateral relations. UNFICYP Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Chao Liu stressed the special peacekeeping role of the military forces in the island. Both leaders thanked the contingents for their dedicated work. Hitherto more than 178,000 soldiers (including those attending this latest medal parade) have received the UNFICYP medal for their service with the mission. On this occasion Lisa M. Buttenheim, Maj.-Gen. Chao Liu and Dr. Balázs Botos, the ambassador of Hungary in Cyprus pinned the medals on the Hungarian peacekeepers’ uniforms.

The ceremony was preceded by extensive preparations, for it takes a lot of time to practice and master the drill movements of the British armed forces drill manual, and the hot summer weather setting in made the practice phase even more difficult. Medal parades in Cyprus present the logistic personnel with a special challenge every time, because after the ceremony the participants and the invited guests have opportunity to taste the specialties of the different nations’ cuisines in the light of the setting sun.