Latest content: Commonwealth Day

Commonwealth Day was celebrated on 9 March, reaffirming the Commonwealth’s desire for peace among all peoples and nations, and the belief that, together, opportunities can be unlocked for everyone, everywhere.

Commonwealth Day will be celebrated around the world on 9 March 2026, with people taking part in cultural events, school activities and faith-based services across the 56 member countries. 

Foreign Ministers from across the Commonwealth convened today at Lancaster House in London for the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting, chaired by Samoa’s Finance Minister, Hon Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molio’o. 

We join together on this Commonwealth Day at a time of great challenge and great possibility. Across our world, communities and nations face the increasing pressures of conflict, climate change and rapid transformation. Yet it is often in such testing moments that the enduring spirit of the Commonwealth is most clearly revealed.

A remembrance ceremony took place today at the Memorial Gates in London to honour the extraordinary contribution of women who served during the First and Second World Wars.

Remarks by Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey, at the Memorial Gates wreath-laying ceremony on Commonwealth Day, Monday 9 March 2026, at Memorial Gates, Constitution Hill, London.

This Commonwealth Day, we affirm the truth that co-operation among nations – freely chosen, values-based and equal – remains the surest foundation for peace and prosperity.

The team at Aspire Academy in the heart of the Eastern Province in Rwanda firmly believe that education holds the key to unlocking limitless potential. Their mission is to uplift communities, break the cycle of poverty, and create a brighter future for the children of Bugesera District.

Commonwealth Day takes place on the second Monday in March, chosen because this is the day when most children across the Commonwealth would be in school. The underlying aim of having a shared day for observance, indicates that the day is intended to be an opportunity to both learn about and celebrate the Commonwealth.   

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey, today announced the theme for Commonwealth Day 2026 as 'Unlocking opportunities together for a prosperous Commonwealth.'

Commonwealth Day was celebrated on 10 March and reaffirmed our shared commitment to the principles of unity, peace and equality. This year’s theme, ‘Together We Thrive’, was celebrated across 56 Commonwealth member countries, demonstrating how working together can build a future defined by opportunity and resilience.

By the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

On Commonwealth Day, staff members from the UK Parliament, their faces beaming with pride, paraded flags representing the 56 member countries. They were at the ceremonial raising of the Commonwealth flag on hosted by the Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and many of them carried flags that represented their countries of origin.

In a world that can so often feel fragile and divided, we gather today in celebration of a union that has endured, evolved and flourished through the years. 

Last October, leaders from across the Commonwealth came together in Samoa to reaffirm their ‘belief in the value of the Commonwealth as a trusted forum where diverse voices of our member states, the large and the small, the young and the old, come together as one family’.

A commemoration ceremony took place today, 10th March, at the Memorial Gates in central London to honour the servicemen and women from the Commonwealth who served alongside the Allied Forces during the First and Second World Wars.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, and Founder and Chairman of the Khalili Foundation, Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili, have congratulated the joint winners of the first Commonwealth Peace Prize, Rev Dr James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, today announced the theme for Commonwealth Day 2025 as ‘Together We Thrive’.

Commonwealth Day 2025 will be celebrated across the Commonwealth on Monday, 10 March. Events and activities will take place throughout March, including civic and faith gatherings, school assemblies, debates, flag-raising ceremonies, and cultural celebrations.

Commonwealth Day is celebrated by millions across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific, and Europe.