The centenary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was an international series of events marking the 2018 anniversary of the armistice which ended World War I. It concluded the series of commemorations marking the wider First World War centenary beginning in 2014. This date was marked by numerous events in conjunction with the concurrent annual memorial days of Armistice Day, Remembrance Day (in Commonwealth countries) and Veterans Day (in the United States), and as part of commissions established for the purposes of marking the four year centenary of the First World War.
Commemorations in France were led by president Emmanuel Macron, and included an international ceremony in Paris which attracted many world leaders, in addition to the first Paris Peace Forum. In London, a service of thanksgiving was hosted at Westminster Abbey, with a German representative (president Frank-Walter Steinmeier) invited to participate in the annual National Service of Remembrance for the first time. Other military ceremonies and events were organised elsewhere throughout the United Kingdom and in key members of the Commonwealth which participated in the war, and across the world.
Background.
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed near the French town of Compiègne, between the Allied Powers and Germany—represented by Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch and civilian politician Matthias Erzberger respectively—with capitulations having already been made separately by Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. The agreements made by both sides included the cessation of all land and air hostilities on the Western Front. It was agreed upon at 5am (Paris time) and came into effect later that morning at 11am.
Formal peace negotiations only took place during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and 1920. With three extensions to the armistice having already been made, a state of peace was ratified with a series of treaties between the Allies and the former Central Powers, beginning with the Treaty of Versailles on 10 January 1920.
Following the end of the war, 11 November was designated a memorial day initially dedicated to the anniversary of the armistice and the military dead of World War I, known as Armistice Day. The first such observance took place in 1919. Following World War II, it was renamed under different titles in several countries (e.g. Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States).
Several national governments drafted plans to mark the First World War centenary with commemorative events, beginning with the 2014 anniversary of the outbreak of World War I and also marking key dates of the war such as the Gallipoli campaign in 2015 and the battles of Verdun and the Somme in 2016.
France.
Schedule.
Key locations in Paris 
The official programme for the centenary was announced on 18 September 2018, during a press conference hosted by education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Geneviève Darrieussecq, secretary of state to the Minister of the Armed Forces. It included an international ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe followed by the inaugural edition of the newly founded Paris Peace Forum, plans which were already mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in a speech published in July. The government's committee was responsible for the organisation of the events.
Prelude.
On 4 November, Macron and his spouse Brigitte Macron hosted German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Strasbourg Cathedral. Following a military ceremony, they attended a concert inside, conducted by the orchestra of the Académie supérieure de Strasbourg. The flags of France, the European Union and Germany were hoisted outside the cathedral. 
On 6 November, Macron announced that writer Maurice Genevoix, author of numerous books on the First World War, would be posthumously listed on the Panthéon in 2019, alongside fourteen other French civilians and soldiers who participated in World War I. Separately, he opened a memorial for fallen colonial soldiers in Reims in a joint ceremony with Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Throughout the course of the week, Macron visited symbolic Western Front locations across eleven departments in the north and east of the country. The visits were the subject of anger from local voters over what the "Financial Times" described as his "perceived metropolitan disregard for their pocketbook concerns."
On 10 November, invited international guests to the Arc de Triomphe ceremony, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, began arriving in Paris. Around 10,000 police officers, gendarmes and soldiers were placed on duty in the lead up to the events. Merkel visited the Glade of the Armistice at Compiègne alongside Macron, where they laid a wreath, unveiled a plaque dedicated to Franco-German reconciliation and signed a book of remembrance in a replica of the railway carriage where the armistice was signed. The visit was symbolic as it marked the first time that French and German leaders had visited the site since 1945. An official reception dinner for invited guests took place in the evening at the Musée d'Orsay.
11 November.
At 11 am (CET), bells across France rang simultaneously to mark a century since World War I ended, including at Notre-Dame de Paris and at churches in overseas France. Guests for the international ceremony had been received by Macron at the Élysée Palace in the morning before departing in unison.
The commemoration began shortly after 11 am, following a presidential inspection of troops, a roll call of French soldiers killed in the preceding year and an army choir rendition of the French national anthem. The event included a performance by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who played the sarabande from Bach's "Suite No. 5 in C minor". A group of testimonies dating to 11 November 1918 were read out by a group of teenage students in between, after which Ma performed the second movement of Ravel's "Sonata for Violin and Cello" with French violinist Renaud Capuçon. Beninese musician Angélique Kidjo sang a variation of the song "Blewu" by Bella Bellow, paying tribute to colonial troops. Macron delivered a keynote speech in which he denounced nationalism as a "betrayal of patriotism", and warned of the resurgence of "old demons". The European Union Youth Orchestra followed with a performance of Ravel's "Bolero". The end of the ceremony included a rekindling of the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier, where Macron also laid a wreath, culminating in the "Sonnerie aux morts" and a moment of silence, followed by the "Cessez-le-feu" bugle call.
All international guests were invited immediately afterward to a luncheon at the Élysée, with their consorts gathering at the Palace of Versailles. The was opened at the Grande halle de la Villette in the afternoon, with Macron, Merkel and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres giving remarks at its plenary session. US president Donald Trump did not attend, instead visiting the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial as the forum took place, where he made an address before returning to the United States.
The European Broadcasting Union organised a concert at the Royal Opera of Versailles with performances by the Vienna Philharmonic, entitled the "Concert for Peace." During a concert in La Force, Dordogne, violinist Pierre Hamel from the Colonne Orchestra performed using a metal violin assembled by soldiers in the trenches. A series of religious memorial services were organised for the day, including an international mass at Notre-Dame de Paris, conducted by Archbishop Michel Aupetit.
Controversies.
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Marshal Pétain, when he led France during the Second World War, was complicit in profound crimes which were recognized, and the responsibility of the French state was recognized. [...] I forgive nothing, but I erase nothing from our history.
 Emmanuel Macron
In October 2018, it was reported that tributes to World War I marshals at the Hôtel des Invalides would include one to Philippe Pétain, who served in the Battle of Verdun and later headed Nazi-aligned Vichy France. It resulted in criticism from French Jews, the opposition and on social media. In response, the office of the Élysée said it was not part of their official schedule and did not understand how Pétain "ended up" on the list. Macron in particular described Pétain as a "great soldier", while remarking that he made "disastrous choices" during the Nazi occupation of France. This tribute was eventually withdrawn.
A planned visit by Trump to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, scheduled for 10 November, was cancelled due to what the White House termed "bad weather". The decision was met with criticism, particularly from former Obama national security advisor Ben Rhodes; British Conservative politician Nicholas Soames, a grandson of Winston Churchill; and former secretary of state John Kerry. A later article by "The Atlantic" surfacing in 2020 said Trump had refused to attend and also described the cemetery as being "filled with losers". He subsequently described the report as "fake news".
Three Femen members staged a protest at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 10 November welcoming "war criminals", and were arrested by French police. In a later statement, the feminist activist group listed Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as examples of this description, along with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was not invited. Femen also claimed responsibility for an incident on the day of the ceremony in which the motorcade carrying Trump passed by a topless woman who ran towards it and was then dragged out by French police. Anti-Trump demonstrations were held at the Place de la République in response to the US president's visit.
The seating arrangement caused a major controversy in Serbia. As the Serbian army had a pivotal role in forcing both Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary out of the war, with Serbia itself having the most extensive casualties compared to its population number and a historical friendship with France, the positioning of Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić away from the frontline seating areas in place of representatives of countries which were on the opposing side in the war or didn't even exist as separate states at the time, was taken as an insult in Serbia.
Dignitaries.
The Paris commemorations were attended by over 120 foreign dignitaries, including 72 heads of state and government and representatives of several international organisations. The French presidential office said it had invited representatives only from countries "which sent troops or workers to the European theaters of war".
During the commemorations, Macron held a bilateral meeting with Trump at the Élysée Palace, which took place a day after Trump tweeted that "Europe should first pay its fair share" of NATO defence expenditures in response to the former's suggestions for a continental European army. A similar meeting was planned between Trump and Putin, but it was ultimately scrapped due to the forthcoming G20 Buenos Aires summit. Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, participated in separate commemorations at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France.
Trump, Putin and Netanyahu opted for their own transportation to the venue of the ceremony on 11 November, due to security concerns.
International.
Present at the Arc de Triomphe ceremony unless stated otherwise.
Heads of state and royalty.
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United Kingdom.
Planning.
The government of the United Kingdom announced that it would allocate a £19 million package to mark the centenary, with an additional £10 million being added to the annual budget made to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, while individual local events were coordinated by the Imperial War Museum. The BBC planned a week-long series of dedicated programming across its platforms, as part of its World War I centenary season.
Events.
Beginning on 5 November, 10,000 torches were lit in the moat of the Tower of London, in an artistic exhibition entitled "Beyond the Deepening Shadow" which would repeat nightly until Armistice Day (11 November). The "Shrouds of the Somme", designed by artist Rob Heard and comprising 72,396 shrouded figures representing all servicemen from the British Commonwealth with no known grave, was laid out at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, being on display from 8 to 18 November 2018.
Prime Minister Theresa May visited the Thiepval Memorial in northern France and the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Belgium on 9 November, laying wreaths at the graves of John Parr and George Edwin Ellison, respectively the first and last British soldiers killed during the war. The wreaths were engraved with handwritten messages from May, invoking wartime poems to express gratitude to the dead for being "staunch to the end". Key members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, attended the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on 10 November at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which included performances by Sir Tom Jones and Sheridan Smith.
Remembrance Sunday.
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