May 25 was once widely celebrated throughout Yugoslavia as Youth Day and the birthday of Josip Broz Tito. Although Tito was officially born on May 7, this day was observed as his birthday. The central celebration was organized at the JNA Stadium in Belgrade, where pioneers, youth, and members of all branches of the army and navy performed a mass parade (slet). On this occasion, the Relay of Youth was presented to Tito. Each year, the relay started from a different town and from a different republic, but it was always greeted by large crowds in cities across former Yugoslavia.
Joyful young people arrived in Belgrade by train, bus, and even on foot. As a rule, the Relay of Youth was presented to Tito, along with a ceremonial greeting containing wishes for long life and good health, by the most exemplary young men and women. The carrying of the relay lasted a full 42 years, until 1987. The last relay had to stop its journey because Tito died; great national mourning followed, and in addition to a magnificent funeral, honorary guards were organized by the relay.
After Tito’s death, the relay was received by the presidents of the then Alliance of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia.
The idea itself originated in 1945 from the youth of Kragujevac, whose Department of Sports and Physical Culture devised mass youth relay runs throughout Yugoslavia. The first relay was handed to Tito by Mika Tripalo, then president of the Central Committee of the People’s Youth of Yugoslavia.
Seven years after Tito’s death, at the final celebration of Youth Day, Rejmonda Broçaj from Gnjilane handed the relay to Haim Redžepi, then president of the SOY.
