The United Nations emblem in the General Assembly Hall
The United Nations emblem in the General Assembly Hall.
Photo:UN/Cia Pak

A symbol of hope for global unity

United Nations Day, on 24 October, marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.

There is no other global organization with the legitimacy, convening power and normative impact of the United Nations. No other global organization gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want. Today, the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater.

UN Day, celebrated every year, offers the opportunity to amplify our common agenda and reaffirm the purposes and principles of the UN Charter that have guided us for the past 78 years.

Poster for the 2023 concert with the theme: The Frontlines of Climate Action

UN Day Concert 2023

Date: Tuesday, 24 October, 6:30 - 8 p.m. (ET)
How to watch: Watch the UN Day concert LIVE on UN Web TV and on the official UN YouTube Channel.
Concert programme (PDF)

In commemoration of United Nations Day, a concert featuring the Environmental Symphony: The Movement and world-renowned cellist Michael Fitzpatrick will be held in the General Assembly Hall on Tuesday, 24 October.

This year’s UN Day Concert, on the theme of The Frontlines of Climate Action, is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations with support from PVBLIC Foundation’s Family Offices for Sustainable Development (FOSD).

The theme of the UN Day Concert reinforces Secretary-General António Guterres’ call for “faster, bolder climate action”, and intends to galvanize world leaders ahead of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai later in the year, and next year’s International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda.

Hymn to the United Nations

Get inspired by this revived W.H. Auden’s Hymn to the United Nations. "Let music for peace Be the paradigm, For peace means to change At the right time, As the World-Clock, Goes Tick and Tock. So may the story Of our human city Presently move Like music, when Begotten notes New notes beget, Making the flowing Of time a growing".

How it all started

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by a majority of signatories. Watch history in the making with this footage from the UN archives !

 

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.