Austria: National Day 2020 virtual

Normally, the performance show of the Austrian Armed Forces is the major event on National Day, October 26. But the Vienna Heroes Square is not supposed to be crowded this year: that's why the event has been moved online. You can virtually explore heavy equipment at nationalfeiertag2020.jetzt, admire the Armed Forces in the cinema or watch the best Flickr entries.

This year, the Austrian Armed Forces present themselves under the general motto "We protect Austria!". The information and performance show takes place without public access. Therefore, the National Day of the Armed Forces is being held for the first time as a "hybrid event" with live coverage by ORF and private TV stations, as well as virtually at nationalfeiertag2020.jetzt .

The Armed Forces present themselves on a virtual Heroes Square, allowing all interested Austrians to visit via PC, smartphone, or tablet. The well-known Austrian film director and Oscar winner Stefan Ruzowitzky created short films on the core themes of the performance show as well as cinematic portraits of soldiers, which will be shown in the live coverage as well as on the virtual Heroes Square.

The thematic areas of this year's performance show, which are presented in more detail in the short films as well as at virtual theme islands, include information on military national defense as the core task of the Armed Forces, disaster relief, the current Corona deployment (with the first mobilization of the reserves), and the special anniversary of "60 years of foreign missions."

Adapted program schedule

• 09:05 AM: Start of live broadcast
• 09:10 AM: Special Council of Ministers with live entry in ORF
• 09:30 AM: Wreath-laying by the Federal President
• 10:00 AM: Wreath-laying by the Federal Government
• 10:26 AM: Flyover of a Saab 105 formation and an Eurofighter formation directly over Heroes Square
• 10:30 AM: Swearing-in of recruits including speeches by Military Commander of Vienna, Brigadier Kurt Wagner, Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.
• From 11:20 AM: Parachute jump with live footage

In addition to the "political program," the real content: nationalfeiertag2020.jetzt

The ARMED FORCES on the internet: www.bundesheer.at