17 August – Indonesia's Independence Day

On 17 August Indonesia celebrates Independence Day (Hari Kemerdekaan). In 2026 the country turns 81: 17 August is a public holiday across the archipelago, red and white flags stay up all month, and this year's theme is “A sovereign, just and prosperous Indonesia”.

For more than three centuries the archipelago was a Dutch possession known as the Dutch East Indies. When the Second World War began, the Dutch withdrew under pressure from the Japanese army and Japan occupied the islands.

Two days after Japan's surrender, on 17 August 1945, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta read out the text of the proclamation of independence in Jakarta. The Netherlands refused to accept it, and four more years of fighting and negotiations followed.

The dispute was settled by the round table conference in The Hague, which ran from August to November 1949. Sovereignty was transferred on 27 December 1949, but 17 August remained the date of the holiday. The Soviet Union was among the first to recognise the new state, and diplomatic relations were established on 3 February 1950.

The red and white flag is called Sang Merah Putih. The colour combination is older than Indonesia itself: the same banners were used by the Majapahit empire, where red stood for courage and white for purity of intention.

Before the holiday the State Secretariat sends out a letter across the country asking everyone, from ministries and schools to private homes, to fly the flag from 1 to 31 August. That is why fences, gates, bikes and whole streets are covered in red and white all through August.

The main ceremony takes place at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta: the flag is raised at 10:00 Jakarta time and lowered at 17:00. In 2026 more than eight thousand guests were invited. From 10:17 to 10:20 the whole country is asked to pause whatever it is doing and stand while the anthem plays.

The popular side of the day is the games held in yards and on public squares. The best known is panjat pinang: a tall pole is smeared with clay and oil, prizes are hung at the top, and a team climbs up for them by standing on each other's shoulders.

There are also contests to see who can eat a krupuk cracker hanging from a string the fastest, sack races and tug of war. People prepare for the holiday together (gotong royong): repairing and painting fences and hanging up banners reading “Dirgahayu RI” — “Long live the Republic of Indonesia”.

All of this is shown on television, and the day ends with fireworks.

The island's main ceremony is held on Niti Mandala Renon square in Denpasar, by the Bajra Sandhi monument. The flag is raised by a paskibraka squad — schoolchildren selected and trained in advance; in 2026 it included 72 young people from all over Bali, and the ceremony is led by Governor Wayan Koster.

The monument itself was built around the date: 17 steps at the main entrance, eight columns inside and a height of 45 metres — 17 August 1945.

Processions and parades move through the villages that day: children march in school uniform, adults in costume.

At Garuda Wisnu Kencana park, Pesta Rakyat is held on 17 August: the same contests, a fair of local producers, concerts and fireworks from three points in the park. Entry by ticket.

The other day of the year when Bali does not run on its usual schedule works the opposite way: on Nyepi the island falls silent.

Since 2009 Google has changed the logo on its Indonesian search homepage for Independence Day. This holiday version of the logo is called a doodle.

The tradition itself started in 1998: company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were heading to the Burning Man festival and put a little stick figure behind the second “o” so that users would know they were out of the office.

Indonesian doodles are often drawn by local artists. In 2014 it was Tommy Chandra from Jakarta, in 2023 Diela Maharanie, who drew the holiday contests, and in 2024 Monez from Bali. The 2025 doodle was about pacu jalur boat races, and in 2026 the word Google is woven on a loom: red and white cloth with golden patterns of tenun, traditional hand weaving. It was drawn by illustrator Anindya Anugrah.

The dates of the other national and Balinese holidays are gathered in a separate article.

Sources: ANTARA, detikcom, detikBali, Tribunnews, Google Doodles.