The participants and all citizens of Sarajevo were addressed and congratulated on this significant date by the Chairman of the City Council, Alen Girt, and Mayor Samir Avdić.
At the ceremonial session, the highest awards of the City were presented, including this year's individual and collective Sixth of April Awards, as well as Plaques and Diplomas.
The individual Sixth of April Award for 2026 was awarded to Elvir Karalić, founder of the humanitarian association Pomozi.ba, and the collective award to the Obala Art Center Sarajevo Association for significant achievements in the field of culture and art.
Recipients of the City Plaque are Claudia Zini, an advocate for the development of Sarajevo as a space for cultural and international cooperation, as well as longtime journalist and documentary filmmaker Ariana Saračević Helać for courage and professionalism in reporting not only during the war but also later. The plaque was received by her son Adi Saračević because Ariana could not attend the session due to current health issues.
The Sarajevo Snowflake Diploma was presented to young musical artist Omar Halilović.
Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo for 2025 was declared former U.S. Senator Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen, an advocate for peace and cooperation in the Southeastern Europe region, who addressed the participants of tonight's ceremonial session in the City Hall via video link.
This recognition for 2025 is also intended for Matt Joseph, an advocate for broader cooperation between the cities of Dayton and Sarajevo, who also addressed via video link. He and Senator Shaheen will receive the mentioned honorary recognitions during upcoming visits to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Honorary Citizen of Sarajevo is also Eric Hauck, one of the foreign journalists who was among the first to report on the days of the wartime siege of Sarajevo. Hauck attended tonight's ceremonial session in the City Hall where the award was presented to him by Mayor Samir Avdić.
Visibly emotional in his address to the officials, Hauck began with the words: "Dear citizens of Sarajevo, dear fellow citizens..."
Part of the ceremonial session was also dedicated to the recently deceased Bosnian-Herzegovinian entertainment artist Halid Bešlić, and one of his songs was performed during the cultural-artistic segment of the program.
Also in honor of the unforgettable performer of sevdalinka, the late Safet Isović, one of the songs dedicated to Sarajevo, which he immortalized with an outstanding performance, was performed.
The ceremonial session began with a tribute to all who gave their lives for the freedom of Sarajevo, an open city that can be a home for anyone who comes with pure intentions, as emphasized by Mayor Samir Avdić during tonight's address to the officials in the City Hall.
According to his words, April 6 is a date deeply engraved in the being of every person who experiences Sarajevo as their city.
"This is a city that has learned patience for centuries, but not obedience," Avdić also said.
He also conveyed that Sarajevans are the soul of the city and its rampart.
The ceremonial session was opened by the Chairman of the City Council, Alen Girt, emphasizing, among other things, that Sarajevo today celebrates its past but with a clear view of the future, as a symbol of coexistence and prosperity.
Avdić and Girt presented the Sixth of April Awards and other recognitions to the recipients, and previously, the Chairwoman of the Committee for the Awarding of the "Sixth of April Award of the City of Sarajevo," Svjetlana Šošić, also addressed the officials.
The Sixth of April Award of the City of Sarajevo is awarded to outstanding individuals, groups, and organizations in recognition of exceptional results and significant achievements in various areas of political and social life.