Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi will be attending the annual celebrations to mark the 36th anniversary of the 1973 war, when Egypt achieved victory over Israel in a war that started on 6 October and lasted for almost three weeks in the Sinai Peninsula.
The celebrations will be be in the presence of the country’s political, partisan, societal and youth powers.
The celebrations are organized by the Armed Forces at Cairo International Stadium. The celebrations shall start at 03:00 p.m. (01:00 GMT). President Morsi will address the nation on TV at 05:00 p.m.
Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali told the press that Morsi is keen to send a message to the Egyptian people about the positive role the military had played in aiding the revolution and preserving its achievements.
“The speech will focus on the president’s achievements during his first 100 days,” Seif Abdel-Fattah, one of the president’s consultants, stated.
Ten days ago, Morsi held a meeting with the members of the former ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in order to discuss preparations for the celebration of the 6 October victory.
The Armed Forces’ Moral Affairs Department has produced six documentary films, the longest of which at three hours long acquaints the new generation of young military officers with the lessons of the October War.
A military source told Al-Ahram Weekly that the film included testimonies by 60 Israeli military commanders and politicians at the time of the war assessing the achievements of the Egyptian military.
The source also revealed that a shorter movie will be broadcast and will include sections from the longer version.
“The six films include two short ones about two late military commanders who played major roles in the October War victory, Lieutenant-General Saad Al-Shazli, former military chief of staff, and Field Marshal Abdel-Ghani Al-Gamasi, chief of military operations during the war.
Late president Anwar Al-Sadat, who waged the war against Israel, established the tradition of celebrating the military victory each year, and he was keen on attending a large military parade along with aides, top state officials and prominent figures at the Cenotaph for the Unknown Soldier in Nasr City. Sadat also invited close Arab leaders to witness the military parade.
