SpeechesWelcome speech for Annual Day
A ready speech for a student or teacher, to open the Annual Day function. Use the short version when you have about a minute, and the full version when you have about three. Both are our own writing; change them freely.
Words in [square brackets] are for you to replace with your own names and details.
Short speech (1 minute)
76 words · about 1 minute at a calm pace
Good evening, respected Chief Guest, respected Principal, teachers, dear parents and my friends. On behalf of [School Name], I warmly welcome you all to our Annual Day. This evening is the result of weeks of practice by our students and the patient guidance of our teachers. We hope that the songs, dances and plays you are about to see will make you smile and make you proud. Please sit back and enjoy the programme. Thank you.
Full speech (3 minutes)
280 words · about 2 minutes at a calm pace
A very good evening to one and all. Respected Chief Guest [Name of Chief Guest], respected Principal, members of the management, our dear teachers, loving parents and my friends, on behalf of the entire family of [School Name], it is my honour to welcome you to our Annual Day.
An annual day is a little like a harvest festival. All year, our teachers have sown and watered, and our students have grown, in knowledge, in skill and in confidence. This evening we gather the harvest and share it with those who matter most to us.
We are especially grateful to our Chief Guest, who has taken time out of a busy schedule to be with us. Sir/Ma'am, your presence encourages our students more than you may know. We also welcome our parents. You are our partners. Every prize given this evening has your early mornings and late nights behind it.
In the next two hours you will see what our students have prepared: music, dance, drama and the annual report of the school. Some performers are on a stage for the first time in their lives. If a step is missed or a line forgotten, I request you to clap even louder. Your applause is their fuel.
Behind the curtain, our teachers have worked for weeks on scripts, costumes, lights and endless rehearsals. I thank them, and the support staff who set up this hall, before the programme begins, because once it begins, all the attention will rightly go to the children.
Without taking more of your time, I welcome you once again and request you to switch your phones to silent, sit back and enjoy the evening. Thank you.
हिंदी में छोटा भाषण
Short version in Hindi
आदरणीय मुख्य अतिथि महोदय, प्रधानाचार्य जी, शिक्षकगण, अभिभावकगण और प्यारे साथियो, आप सबको सादर नमस्कार। [विद्यालय का नाम] के वार्षिकोत्सव में आप सबका हार्दिक स्वागत है। आज की यह शाम हमारे विद्यार्थियों की कई सप्ताह की मेहनत और शिक्षकों के मार्गदर्शन का फल है। हमें आशा है कि आज के गीत, नृत्य और नाटक आपको आनंद और गर्व, दोनों देंगे। आपकी तालियाँ हमारे कलाकारों का हौसला बढ़ाएँगी। धन्यवाद।
Make it yours
A ready speech gets you started; your own details make people listen. Before you use this one:
- Check the name and designation of the Chief Guest twice and practise saying it.
- Welcome people in the order of protocol: Chief Guest, Principal, management, teachers, parents, students.
- A welcome speech should take two to three minutes. The audience has come for the children.
- Add one true detail from your own school, office or family. It is the line people will remember.
- Read it aloud with a timer and cut what you do not need. The speech timer shows the time for any draft.
More help: how to deliver a speech, how to overcome stage fear and other opening and closing lines.