A national public holiday in the central Pacific islands Republic of Kiribati, Independence Day is Kiribati’s National day and this year falls after the public holidays in honour of Gospel Day (Friday 8 July) and National Culture and Senior Citizens’ Day (Monday 11 July) and is followed by Kiribati Special Day (Wednesday 13 July). Independence Day commemorates the nation (known at the time as ‘the Gilbert Islands’) gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. The day is spent with family and friends, sharing banquets, traditional dancing and a lot of music. Kiribati is the only sovereign state to be situated in all four hemispheres of the world.