Foreign Ministers gathered at NATO Headquarters on Thursday (4 April 2024) to mark 75 years since the signing of the Alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty. Since 1949, the Alliance has ensured peace, democracy and prosperity for its members, now counting 32 Allies and one billion people on both sides of the Atlantic. This year's NATO Day comes just weeks after Sweden joined as the thirty-second member of the Alliance.
In a speech marking the anniversary, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed that "NATO is bigger, stronger, and more united than ever". He welcomed that the founding treaty, normally kept in Washington, D.C., was on display at NATO Headquarters for the first time, saying: "never has a single document with so few words meant so much to so many people. So much security, so much prosperity, and so much peace. All because of its solemn promise: that we stand together, and protect one another, as we have for 75 years."
Monuments throughout the Brussels are marking NATO's anniversary. In Parc du Cinquantenaire, the NATO flag is flying under the Memorial Arch, and buildings in the city are illuminated in NATO blue, including the City Hall of Brussels and the Egmont Palace. The iconic Manneken Pis statue, one of the best-known symbols of Brussels, is wearing a special NATO Day costume to join the festivities.
Other Allies are also marking the anniversary with events including public discussions, musical performances and the illumination of buildings in NATO blue.
