D-DAY 80 Normandy Parade
March along the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 2024, 80 years after the landing on D-Day which led to the liberation of Europe.
The D-Day 80 Normandy Parade will be a highlight of the musical events commemorating the 80th Anniversary of D-Day June 6, 2024.
Marching bands from across the United States are invited to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience to march on the beaches of Normandy for enthusiastic crowds lining the streets of these historic towns.
In addition to your experience in Normandy, your ensemble will also have the opportunity to explore and perform in Paris. The French love and support both traditional and contemporary musical performances. Paris was “second Vienna” for French musicians and composers including Berlioz, Auger, Gounod, Saint-Saens, Franck, Faure, Ravel, Debussy, and many others. Your concert tour is truly enriched with your surroundings of art history, architecture, and beauty that is best experienced “first hand.”
D-Day 80 Normandy Parade
SAMPLE ITINERARY
CAEN / NORMANDY AREA / PARIS
DAY ONE
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
- Depart via scheduled air service to Paris, France
DAY TWO
Wednesday, June 5
- Arrive in Paris
- Meet your MCI Tour Manager, who will assist the group to awaiting chartered motorcoach
- Transfer to Caen via Rouen
- Excursion to Rouen to see the Cathedral. In the Place de la Cathédrale stands the Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame, one of the largest and most magnificent in France. The most striking feature is the elaborately articulated west front which was several times painted by Claude Monet. Also see the sight of Joan of Arcs execution
- Continue to Caen for late afternoon hotel check-in
- Welcome Dinner included, and overnight
DAY THREE
Thursday, June 6
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Excursion to Vierville-sur-Mer and Saint Laurent-sur-Mer to participate in the D-Day 80th Activities
- Lunch provided to all trip participants
- D-Day 80th Opening Ceremony at the Monument of the 29th Infantry
- Parade line-up and staging
- Performance and participation in the D-Day 80 Memorial Parade – marching along Omaha Beach from Vierville-sur-Mer to Saint Laurent-sur-Mer (two towns liberated during the Normandy invasion by American and Allied Forces)
- Following the parade, attend the Omaha Beach Concert by the D-Day Wind Band, conducted by Colonel Dennis Layendecker in front of the United States Army First Division Monument
- Visit the Les Braves Omaha Beach Memorial. Les Braves is a memorial that is located in the center of Omaha Beach and commemorates the fallen American soldiers of World War II who lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy, June 6th 1944. French sculptor Anilore Banon, created the monument in 2004, commissioned by the French government to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the DDay Invasion of Normandy. Originally intended only as a temporary exhibit, this piece still stands today
- Visit the Point du Hoc where you can see the World War II Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument. It was erected by the French to honor elements of the American Second Ranger Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder. During the American assault of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, these elements scaled the 100-foot cliff and seized the German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops at Omaha Beach. At a high cost of life, they successfully defended against determined German counterattacks
- Dinner included and overnight
DAY FOUR
Friday, June 7
- Breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out
- Morning excursion to Coleville and participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the American Cemetery, site of the June 6th Normandy Invasion
- Lunch, on own
- Afternoon transfer to Paris
- Dinner included, and overnight
DAY FIVE
Saturday, June 8
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Morning guided tour of Paris historique. See the most historic parts of the city including seeing the Notre-Dame Cathedral during the restoration process after the devastating fire in 2019, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, Luxembourg Palace and Gardens, Latin Quarter, Place de la Bastille, Invalides Hospital, and other Parisian highlights
- Lunch, on own
- Performance in Paris as part of the American Celebration of Music in France*
- Dinner included, and overnight
DAY SIX
Sunday, June 9
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Take a guided tour of Versailles Palace. Louis XIV transformed his father’s hunting lodge into the monumental Château de Versailles in the mid-17th century, and it remains France’s most famous and grand palace. Situated in the leafy, bourgeois suburb of Versailles, southwest of central Paris, the baroque château was the kingdom’s political capital and the seat of the royal court from 1682 up until the fateful events of 1789 when revolutionaries massacred the palace guard. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were ultimately dragged back to Paris, where they were ingloriously guillotined.
- Lunch, on own
- Performance in Paris as part of the American Celebration of Music in France*
- Dinner included, and overnight
D-day 80 NORMANDY PARADE
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION
You can also call us at 800-395-2036
or send us an email at info@musiccelebrations.com