On the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, the people of the capital sang uprising songs with the support of professional musicians. On the square of marsz. Józef Piłsudski square resounded with songs such as: „Hey boys, bayonet to arms”, „Zośka” and „Pałacyk Michla”.

In keeping with tradition, on the evening of 1 August, a crowd of Poles gathered at the square of Marshal Józef Piłsudski in Warsaw to sing the (un)banned songs to the accompaniment of a professional orchestra and a choir of Varsovians under the direction of Jan Stokłosa.

Among the attendees was the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda. The concert was also attended by the last surviving Warsaw insurgents, who were greeted by the assembled with applause and thunderous cheers: „Honour and glory to the heroes!”.

The concert began with the singing of the „Warszawianka”.

The theme of this year’s event was everyday life in the insurgent capital. „In occupied Warsaw, songs helped to breathe, to forget about the difficult wartime reality, they united its inhabitants, lifted their spirits and were a tool of struggle,” – said Jan Młynarski, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, son of Wojciech Młynarski, who conducted the entire concert.

Among those who recalled their stories (on archive recordings projected during the ceremony) were the liaison officer, nurse Halina Wołowicz a.k.a. Renata, Zofia Czekalska a.k.a. Sosenka, platoon commander Stanisław Komornicki a.k.a. Nałęcz, Bożena Pawłowska a.k.a. Magda.

„Fogg was wonderful, he came out on stage accompanied by an insurgent who played the mandolin. He sang and got terrific applause,” Komornicki recalled.

„On the first of August – a bloody day, the people of Warsaw rose up to free the capital from evil. And they hoisted a forest of white-and-red banners on the rooftops, barricades and edifices”. – sang the Warsaw residents gathered in the square.

The concert featured such songs as 'Deszcz jesienny deszcz’, 'Hej chłopcy, bayonnet na broń’, 'Sanitarianka Małgorzatka’, 'Piosenka o mojej Warszawie’, 'Pałacyk Michla’, 'Zośka’, 'Serce w placaku’, 'Warszawo ma’ and 'Marsz Mokotow’. Help was provided by song books handed out and texts projected on large screens. Large white and red flags flew in the square.

The concert concluded with „Warsaw Children” and the song „O Barbaro”. At the end of the concert, the national anthem was sung together.

The crowd of Varsovians also chanted the insurgent song „Keep vigil, and strain your hearing, strain your young spirit, working for two…” (Michl Palace), which was taken up by the orchestra.