Twinning ceremony
Twinning ceremony: signing, renewing and celebrating the charter
Six months of preparation, one hour of ceremony: SOST’N handles delivery for the municipality.
Costed reply within 24 hours
From the council resolution to the day before, in this order
The ceremony concludes a procedure. It never comes before it.
Align the two towns
At least six months ahead: date, bilingual text of the charter, and the principle of two ceremonies, one in each town.
Pass the resolution
The town council approves the twinning and authorises the mayor to sign: no resolution, no signature, and therefore no official invitation.
Inform the embassy or consulate
As soon as the date is set, the partner country’s representation in France is informed, and invited if the town wishes.
Announce the date
Six to eight weeks ahead, to elected officials, members of parliament, public bodies and association chairs.
Send the invitation cards
Received three weeks ahead at the latest. The replies set the seating plan, the name cards and the reception.
Settle precedence
Rank of each authority under the decree of 13 September 1989, order of speeches, seats on the platform: approved by the mayor’s office.
Rehearse the day before
Sound, anthems, bilingual reading, signing, photograph: every step tried in the room, timed running order handed to each speaker.
The running order, from the welcome to the reception
About an hour, timed the day before. This is the most common order, which each town adapts to its own customs.
Before the opening. The partner delegation is received separately, in a reception room, then seated in the front row before the public comes in. The interpreters are already in place.
The opening. The host mayor opens the ceremony in front of the French, European and partner country flags.
The speeches. Reverse order of precedence: the highest-ranking person speaks last. With consecutive interpreting, a five-minute speech takes ten.
The reading of the charter. In both languages, by the two mayors or by readers chosen by the twinning committee: a pupil, a long-standing member, an association chair.
The signing. Two original copies, one per town, each in both languages. The mayors sign, exchange signature folders, sign again, then the official photograph is taken.
The reception. Reception drinks, official gifts, visitors’ book. This is where residents meet their partners: plan it to last as long as the ceremony.
The second ceremony. The charter is signed again in the partner town, on another date, according to its customs.
Costed reply within 24 hours
Request a quoteNational anthems: what is written, what varies, who decides
Guides contradict each other on this point. Here is the only published reference, and what it leaves open.
A detail that avoids an awkward silence: the European anthem has no official lyrics. It is played, not sung, and the audience stands to hear it.
What is written
The European anthem, with the Marseillaise last
Answer from the French Ministry of the Interior published in the Journal officiel on 3 July 2018: the European anthem is accepted at a twinning, provided the Marseillaise is also played, last.
What varies
The partner country’s anthem
No text provides for it at a twinning. Guides to public ceremonies play foreign anthems before the Marseillaise; town practices differ.
Who decides
The local authority, in agreement with its partner
Played, sung or left out: the choice belongs to the town. We then check the official versions, their length and the recording, the day before.
What SOST’N takes care of, from the flags to the reception
The municipality keeps the protocol. We handle delivery, down to the details the delegation remembers and the press photographs.
- Timed running order and named seating plan.
- Flags: French, European and partner country flags, same size, same poles, order checked with the town’s protocol office.
- Staging and production: stage, lectern, lighting, signing table, sound, anthems, interpreting, recording.
- Bilingual name cards, badges and programme: names, titles and spelling checked with the partner town.
- Reciprocal official gifts, of modest value agreed in advance, ideally an object from the area.
- Reception and hosting the delegation: dietary requirements collected beforehand, alcohol-free drinks on an equal footing, transfers, accommodation, meals.
What is given at the first ceremony sets the level for the second: the two committees agree on it beforehand, in writing.
For the return ceremony in the partner town, the delegation’s journey is organised and coordinated, with one single contact.
SOST’N, and what we can say about ourselves
Our clients keep their image. The volumes remain.
- 35+events produced a year
- 300 to 400people welcomed at large-scale events
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- Since 2019the managing director has produced events
Related pages
Further reading
Twinning ceremony
A charter to sign this year?
Describe the date and the size of the delegation. Costed reply within 24 hours.