40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution

The 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution (Arabic: الذكرى الأربعون للثورة الليبية) was a ruby jubilee anniversary in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya celebrated on 1 September 2009 in honor of the 1969 Libyan revolution.

The coup, known officially as the al-Fateh Revolution or the 1 September Revolution, was carried out by group of Libyan Army officers led by Captain Muammar Gaddafi, known as the Free Officers Movement. The goal of this group was to overthrow King Idris I. On 1 September, 70 officers and enlisted soldiers who mostly came from the Corps of Signals launched a seizure of the government in Benghazi and, within two hours, gained control of the entire national government. One of the coup plotters first actions were to abolish the Kingdom of Libya and proclaim the establishment of the Libyan Arab Republic. Institutions that were later created such as the Libyan People's Court were used to purge any remnants of the former regime. The coup, staged amidst the Arab Cold War, was the result of a continuous rise in ideologies such as Nasserism, Arab nationalism and Arab socialism throughout the Islamic and particularly the Arab world. The coup transformed the country into a military dictatorship under the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council, and later a socialist state or Jamahiriya.

A military parade of troops of the African Union and the Libyan Armed Forces took place on Green Square on 1 September. This marked the first day of celebrations.

Troops from foreign countries took part in the parade. Units that represented their country included:

• Egyptian Armed Forces
• Zimbabwe National Army
• Armed Forces of Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrean Defence Forces
• Gambia Armed Forces
• Hellenic Navy
• Sudanese Armed Forces
• Uganda People's Defence Force
• Zambian Army
• Ghana Army
• Serbian Armed Forces
• 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment
• Separate Presidential Brigade

Musical accompaniment was provided by the Armed Forces Band, who performed the national anthem, Allahu Akbar. Music was also provided by the bands of foreign states, including the Band of the 154th Preobrazhensky Regiment as well as the bands participating in the World Military Music Festival. For the foreign section of the parade, the bands performed Russian military marches, particularly the Preobrazhensky Regiment March, Hero and Farewell of Slavianka.

The World Military Music Festival took place on 2 September as a military tattoo that saw the participation of military bands and cultural groups from 16 nations and 5 continents. It was presided by Gaddafi's son Mutassim in his position as National Security Advisor of Libya.

Each individual band and group had their own short performance before being brought together for massed finale. Performances included pipe band songs, the national anthem, and the massed bands leaving to a Russian tune. The performance took place on Green Square in front of an audience of invited guests and senior military officials and thousands of members of an incredibly appreciative general public. The bands present also gave an additional impromptu street performance on the square.

Morocco was set to participate in the event, however withdrew after it learned that representatives of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the Polisario Front would be attending.

Controversially, Somali pirate leader Mohamed "Afweyne" Abdi Hassan was invited to and attended the celebrations. Gaddafi frequently defended and politically supported the Somali pirates.

• Light show in Tripoli on 25 August.

• A plane flying over Tripoli's Corinthia Hotel during an air show rehearsal on 30 August.

• 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China

• 25th anniversary of Hamas

• History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi

• Full footage of the marchpast