KIEV, November 22 (RIA Novosti) - About half a million people are expected to gather Tuesday in central Kiev to celebrate the first anniversary of the "orange revolution," now observed as Freedom Day in Ukraine.
According to the presidential press office, the celebrations on Independence Square, where crowds gathered in freezing temperatures to protest the results of the presidential election last November, will open at 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. GMT) with a pop music concert. It will be followed by a rally at 6 p.m. (4 p.m. GMT), with ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko, a key figure in the movement to install new authorities last year, and the incumbent Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov expected to deliver speeches. Leaders of political parties that contributed to last year's "orange revolution" will address the gathering as well. The ceremony will culminate in a 20-minute address by President Viktor Yushchenko.
Special events to mark the occasion are also planned in regional centers of Ukraine.
The celebrations are being funded by a charity set up during last year's mass protests against the disputed elections in Ukraine.
The pro-presidential People's Union Our Ukraine party has asked the public to commemorate the historic event by wearing orange clothing and accessories and decorating their cars with orange ribbons.
