File photos
LEFT: FIREWORKS EXPLODE:Streaks of light illuminate the midnight sky as a new nation is born.
RIGHT: A section of the crowd, estimated at 5,000 people, which attended the St Thomas Parish Fête at Lyssons Recreation Centre, near Morant Bay on Thursday, August 9, 1962, for the Independence celebrations.

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Just before midnight on August 5, 1962, the British Union Jack was lowered and the Jamaican flag raised for the first time, marking Jamaica's independence and the dawn of a new era.

The national parade, flag-raising ceremony and fireworks were held at the National Stadium with the evening's events beginning at 11 p.m. More than 20,000 people gathered at the venue for the night's celebrations.

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