ANZAC Day 2025: speech

Burgemeester, Excellenties, Distinguished Guests, Members of the Armed Forces, 
Veterans, and families, ladies and gentlemen, 

We gather here today, beneath the solemn arch of the Menin Gate. To remember. To honor. To reflect. 

This place – carved with the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who have no known grave – speaks with a silence louder than words. 

It reminds us that freedom is never free, and that the cost of peace is etched not just in stone, but in the lives lived and lost in service to others. 

On this ANZAC Day, we pay tribute to the brave men and women of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who, alongside their allies, stood together in the darkest hours of the Great War – and in every conflict since. 

Their courage, endurance, and unwavering mateship have left a legacy that echoes through the generations. 

Here in Ypres, thousands of miles from home, they fought and fell on foreign soil – not for conquest, but for the conviction that justice and liberty are worth defending, even at the greatest cost. 

We do not glorify war. But we do glorify the spirit of those who served. The ANZAC spirit – born in the trenches of Gallipoli and carried through the fields of Flanders – is one of loyalty, resilience, and sacrifice. It is this spirit we honor today. 

And as we reflect on the past, we cannot ignore the present. Today, across the fields of Ukraine, war again casts its long shadow over Europe. Civilians and soldiers alike endure destruction, loss and displacement. Once again, we are reminded that peace is fragile, and that the lessons of history must never be forgotten. 

As the bugle calls and the Last Post sounds, let us stand in silence and gratitude. Let us remember not only the fallen, but those who came home forever changed, and those who still serve today.  

Lest we forget.