Today, Lebanon marks its 81st Independence Day amid a devastating Israeli war that has stripped the occasion of its unifying symbolism. The ongoing conflict has, once again, eclipsed the national celebration traditionally hosted by State leaders. However, the cancellation of this year’s festivities is rooted not solely in the war but also in a deepening internal crisis. The presidential vacuum, which has stretched into its third year, continues due to political disputes over the qualifications for the next president, with each of the local factions firmly backing a candidate aligned with its own agenda. 

Lebanon is one of the few nations where internal crises repeatedly disrupt official Independence Day celebrations. This pattern is not new. During the 15-year Civil War (1975–1989), official festivities were suspended but resumed following the 1989 Taif Agreement, which ended the conflict and laid the foundation for peace. However, over the past 13 years, Lebanon has canceled its State-organized Independence Day events eight times due to extraordinary circumstances and five times due to presidential deadlock, all reflecting a weakened state.  

A History of Interrupted Celebrations

The first semi-central celebration during the Civil War took place on November 22, 1989, at an interim presidential headquarters in Beirut’s Sanayeh area. Then-newly elected President René Mouawad presided over the event. Tragedy struck minutes later when Mouawad was assassinated by a car bomb near the venue. His successor, Elias Hrawi, did not hold independence celebrations until he returned to the Baabda Presidential Palace in 1992, following a military operation led by Syrian forces that ousted General Michel Aoun. 

From 1993 onwards, Independence Day celebrations resumed consistently under President Hrawi's term, extending through President Emile Lahoud’s presidency, including the first year of his controversial extension in 2005 following the Syrian forces' withdrawal from Lebanon in the wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.  

In 2006, the central celebration event was canceled in the aftermath of a devastating Israeli war and the political crisis surrounding the formation of a tribunal to investigate Hariri’s assassination. The following year, the Lebanese Army’s battle against the extremist Fatah al-Islam group in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp further disrupted celebrations.  

The election of President Michel Sleiman in 2008 brought a brief period of calm during which Independence Day celebrations resumed uninterrupted. However, with the end of Sleiman's term in 2014 and the onset of another presidential vacuum, celebration events were again suspended. They resumed briefly under President Michel Aoun but ceased entirely after 2018. The last central celebration, in 2019, occurred just one month after the October 17 uprising, which paralyzed the country and demanded the resignation of the entire political establishment.  

Since 2020, Lebanon has not held any central Independence Day commemorations. That year’s event was canceled following the Beirut Port explosion, which devastated much of the capital, including the waterfront venue traditionally used for the festivities. The 2021 celebration was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while subsequent years have been marred by the ongoing presidential vacuum. Since October 31, 2022, when Aoun left office, Lebanon has remained in a leadership void that extends across all State institutions, threatening not only the annual Independence Day commemoration but the very structure of the nation.

This article, originally published in Arabic by Asharq Al-Awsat, has been translated into English.