Dear Fire & Rescue Volunteers, dear guests,

My husband, Prince Joachim, and I are honoured to be here today to celebrate the 22nd Feuerwehr-Sternfahrt in Sønderborg - by now a long-running, beautiful tradition, paying tribute to the noble spirit of volunteers in fire-fighting and rescue-services. Volunteering is the ultimate action of devotion, and we are here today to support, encourage and honour it.

The members of our Royal Family have for decades actively supported and worked with the volunteers in the Danish Civil Protection League. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is patron of the Danish Civil Protection League, having taken on this responsibility after her parents, King Frederik the IX, and Queen Ingrid.

Via my own work with the Danish Emergency Management Agency, I am privileged to often meet Danish volunteers.

They are ordinary people, doing extraordinary things, out of their passion to help others. They put into practice the principle of solidarity and community responsibility and thereby make a significant contribution to society. 

I am truly honoured to meet you, representatives from 14 European countries.

Thousands of you volunteers are giving your time and expertise to help your fellow citizens. 
You are risking your lives to protect us. 
You help to drive our progress and make big sacrifices.
Your commitment makes a huge difference to our society, and the world around us. 
You are an example to all of us. 

Today we pay tribute to YOU, the selfless individuals from all over Europe, who are devoted to a cause bigger than yourselves. 

We are proud to welcome you to Sønderborg – a historic place representing strong volunteering values, and long relations with the Danish Royal Family.

It is not by chance that the volunteer fire-fighters stand strongly in this part of the country.

By hosting this event, the city of Sønderborg shows its ambition to be a city that reaches out also beyond borders.

I wish you a great festival and hope you will enjoy your time in our beautiful Sønderborg!

And with these words I declare, Feuerwehr-Sternfahrt 2017, open!