Yesterday we celebrated His Majesty King Charles III’s 77th birthday at the British Ambassador’s Residence. About 800 guests attended the party, including leading figures from the world of politics, Congress, the Judiciary, and business, as well as diplomats, academics, artists, journalists, and members of civil society. The Argentine government was represented by Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno; the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger; the Minister of Justice, Mariano Cúneo Libarona; and the Secretary of Education, Carlos Torrendell, among others.
This was the first major event headed by Ambassador David Cairns, who arrived in the country last September. The celebration also marked the closure of the Embassy’s 2025 Bicentenary campaign which commemorated 200 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Argentina.
During his speech, Ambassador Cairns recalled some milestones from these 200 years, such as the construction of the Torre Monumental, also known as the Torre de los Ingleses, at the beginning of the 20th century, and the visit Charles made to Argentina in 1999 (when he was still Prince of Wales), highlighting in particular his ventures into tango and polo.
Before ending his speech, the Ambassador showed a video that summarised these 200 years of shared history by showing memorable hugs and friendships between British and Argentine figures, like Messi and Beckham, Fangio and Moss, and the fruitful relationship forged between Nobel prize winners César Milstein and Frederick Sanger, among others. Click here to watch the full video Cumplimos 200 años de relaciones diplomáticas 🇬🇧🇦🇷.
During the event, guests were able to visit the five “Bicentenary stations”, where a graphic and audiovisual installation showed the rich history of the bilateral relationship from different angles educational and scientific co-operation, trade links, sports, culture and the contributions made by British immigrants to Argentina.
After the Ambassador’s speech, the Argentine band Oeisis performed a tribute to Oasis, the Mancunian band that last weekend gave two historic shows at the River Plate stadium. Singer María Álvarez de Toledo sang the national anthems of both countries, and DJ Maxi Martina, presenter of The Selector Radio, the British Council’s weekly radio show, played a selection of British music of all times.
The main sponsor of the event was the GREAT Campaign – the UK country brand whose theme invites us to “see things differently”. In addition, several UK companies supported the event and had the opportunity to display their products and services bearing the British seal of excellence.
