Cultural events and celebrations to mark Papua New Guinea's 42nd anniversary of gaining independence are getting underway across the country.
Man hawking national and provincial flags in Papua New Guinea Photo: Melvin Levongo
The anniversary is tomorrow but already residents in many PNG towns are adorning themselves with PNG flags as well as the symbols of their home province.
Our correspondent Melvin Levongo said independence day fever was taking hold among grassroots communities.
Boy holding Papua New Guinea national and Morobe provincial flags. Photo: Melvin Levongo
He said in the capital Port Moresby, the official anniversary events will begin with a dawn flag-raising ceremony.
"After that, during the day, we have the local sing-sing, the local singers and traditional string bands and all that, they're going to showcase their talents. Then we have activities like people cooking traditional food in the stalls, like mumu and all this."
He said that in the lead-up to the anniversary, the capital had also hosted various provincial days where individual provinces held events to celebrate their own culture and traditions.
Meanwhile, in the city of Lae, the governor-general Sir Bob Dadae will be keynote speaker at an independence event at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.
