London: On Tuesday, 10 March 2026, the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor Linda Bird, the Deputy Mayor Councillor David Gardner, the Deputy Leader of the Council Averil Lekau and Cllr. Mariam Lolayar, alongside the Representative Tsering Yangkey, Office of Tibet, Phuntsok Norbu, Chairman of the Tibetan Community in Britain and Tibetan people living in the Greewich Borough, raised the Tibet Flag in the Greenwich Town Hall to mark the 67th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, and to express solidarity with the Tibetan people.

Although the formal flag-raising ceremony could not take place outside due to ongoing scaffolding at the Town Hall, the symbolic raising of the Tibetan flag inside the building remained a powerful gesture of solidarity with the Tibetan people inside Tibet, who are denied the right to raise this flag in their own homeland. The moment served as a reminder of the universal values of freedom, human rights, and human dignity.

Representative Tsering Yangkey expressed her sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Council leaders for their symbolic gesture of continued support and solidarity with the Tibetan community in its peaceful struggle for freedom, justice, and human rights.

The facilitator of the Tibet flag initiative, Tsering Passang, also conveyed his heartfelt thanks to the leaders of the Royal Borough of Greenwich for their long-standing support for the Tibetan community. He recalled that the first Tibet flag raising in the borough took place in September 2015 as a welcoming gesture during the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the UK (facilitated by the Office of Tibet London), when His Holiness delivered a public talk to more than 10,000 people at The O2, addressed the Tibetan community and met with the then Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Councillor Norman Adams.

He further noted that the annual Tibet Flag Raising Ceremony has been held at Woolwich Town Hall since 2020 in collaboration with the Royal Borough of Greenwich. He also acknowledged the kind support and cooperation of the Mayor’s Office in facilitating this meeting between the Council leaders and the Tibetan community.

Mayor Linda Bird shared her fond memories of attending the celebration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday last July at the Tibetan Peace Garden, where she addressed a large gathering of Tibetans and supporters.

Later that day, the Royal Borough of Greenwich also marked the occasion on its official social media account, stating:

“Today we raised the Tibetan flag inside Woolwich Town Hall to mark Tibetan Uprising Day. Showing solidarity here in Royal Greenwich with those marking the day around the world to remember the events of 1959 and the resilience of Tibetan communities.”

– Report filed by Office of Tibet, London