Next year's Army Day Parade to take place in Lucknow

The Army has decided to host the next Army Day Parade, set for January 15, 2024, in Lucknow, sources said on Sunday.

The Army’s Central Command is based there.

Traditionally, the annual Army Day Parade had been held in Delhi. This long-standing practice saw a shift in January this year when the parade was conducted in Bengaluru.

A decision has been made to rotate the Army Day Parade venue across different cities in India. The objective is to diversify the locations and allow various regions to witness the grandeur of the event, sources in the defence establishment said.

The rotation is not just about changing cities but about ”shifting the spotlight to various commands”, each of which plays a unique and critical role in the nation’s defence, the sources said, adding it also offers a chance to highlight the distinct cultural and regional backdrops against which the Army operates.

After the Bengaluru event, the Army has planned to ensure that each of its six operational commands gets a chance to host the parade, they said.

The idea is to conduct the event in selected venues within all the commands, on a rotational basis. The last parade was held in the Southern Command area and the upcoming event will be conducted in the Central Command area, the sources said.

This move to rotate the venues aims to increase public engagement, foster national unity, and showcase the might and discipline of the Army to diverse audiences across the country, they added.