The Government and the Self-Determination for Gibraltar Group (SDGG) have agreed with regret that there should not be a “live” political rally at Casemates this National Day. The event will again take place virtually and on our television screens instead.

This decision, which has not been taken lightly, needed to be made now in order to avoid the detailed planning and organisation that would need to happen for an event of this magnitude.

It is important to be prudent and cautious in relation to a public gathering of this size, where thousands of people are traditionally in close proximity, in the light of new mutations and variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.

However, it will still be possible, as it was last year, for family and friends to congregate in smaller groups in restaurants and on our beaches.

A number of smaller events organised by the SDGG, like the annual fair, will continue for the time being, given that the crowds involved are smaller simply because everyone will not choose to attend on the same day and at the same time.

These events will be kept under close review.

The Government would like to echo the recent statement by the Gibraltar Health Authority urging residents of Gibraltar to continue to take sensible precautions because the virus is still out there.