Nation and culture feted on Tynwald Day

Stage set for Island's national day

The traditional Tynwald Day outdoor ceremony takes place today (5 July) with invited guests from around the world witnessing the high point of the Manx parliamentary year.

Large numbers of visitors enjoying a bank holiday are expected to pour into St John's for an occasion which can trace its origins back 1000 years. 

After a chapel service, Tynwald members walk in procession to the hill for the set-piece sitting and the proclamation of new Manx laws.

It's a gathering of the establishment, including senior members of the judiciary, the Constabulary, town and village commissioners, the Mayor of Douglas, parish captains and coroners.

The majority of the occasion follows time-honoured tradition - but one aspect is unknown in advance, as John Moss reports: