“Normandy Celebrates 80th Anniversary of D-Day with Promotional Event in New York”

The June 6, 2024the Normandie will welcome the commemorations of the 80^e D-Day anniversary. On the occasion of its trip to New York with companies from Normandy, the Region and its president Hervé Morin promoted this memorial event on Tuesday March 14 at the French consulate. A seduction operation in front of around 200 guests.

“A special resonance”

“It will be a great moment of emotion and recognition for the veterans. This 80^e D-Day anniversary will have a particular resonance, because there will still be witnesses to these violent battles on the beaches of D-Day”, specifies Hervé Morin. “Normandy has a trump card with the Landing which is identified and known to the Americans”, specifies Jérémie Robert, the French consul in New York.

This interest in memory is essential in the eyes of Americans, with a passion for its veterans. This is an asset for Normandy.

Two Distinguished Veterans

This event was also an opportunity to distinguish two veterans of the Second World War of the Region medal: Robert Gibson and Norris Morvant. “It’s important to honor these two heroes, thank you for your bravery,” says Michaël Dodds, director of Normandie attractiveness.

“I have returned twice to France since the war. I was a member of the Eisenhower headquarters, ”says in perfect French, Norris Morvant, 99, living in Louisiana. “My name is French: Morvant with a t. During the war, I transmitted the orders to the combatants. I have always been well received in France, with these people who thank us. Soon to be 100 years old, his friend Bob Gibson remembers his landing on Utah Beach.

We were the second wave, I remember we were all crying when we got to the beach.

Before adding, echoing the conflict in Ukraine: “This freedom is important, don’t waste it all. »

Remembrance tourism: 6 million visits

If the course of the 80^e anniversary is not yet known (“you have to ask the State the question”, according to Hervé Morin), these celebrations are eagerly awaited by the Region. “It will be a festive moment when the Region supports the towns and villages that participate”, promises the President of the Normandy Region. “Every year we have 6 million visits linked to memory tourism, with many Americans, Canadians and Britons. There will be a gigantic emotion with the presence of our heroes. And it is a very important economic event for the Region. »

The year 2022 was marked by the return of American tourists after the Covid with the visit of 770,000 Americans to Normandy.

Classification of beaches at Unesco relaunched

This next big anniversary of 2024 may be one of the last years with the presence of veterans. “It’s a buoyant event with a billion viewers. We will also have to think about renewing memory tourism in the future”, knows the President of the Region.

To accentuate the notoriety of the event, Normandy reinvests its request to Unesco to recognize the landing beaches. “Our request is starting again. It may be for next year, ”hopes Hervé Morin.

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