Legendary film director Steven Spielberg is set to walk in the footsteps of the great US President Abraham Lincoln by being a keynote speaker at a ceremony in Gettysburg on Nov. 19 to mark the anniversary of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address.
Mr. Spielberg, who is soon to release a film about the final months of the President's time in office, will speak at the Soldiers National Cemetery, where thousands of soldiers who died in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, are buried.
Lincoln honoured the fallen with his address on Nov. 19, 1863. Mr. Spielberg's visit to Gettysburg will also mark the release of his film, titled 'Lincoln'.
The film, which stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, will be released on January 25 in the UK .
Daniel Day-Lewis as President Lincoln in Spielberg's new movie (Photo: SplashNews/Dreamwoks)
According to the Pittsbutrgh Post-Gazette, Spielberg said in a statement: "It is an honour to be asked to speak at such a hallowed place on the anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, I look forward to visiting Pennsylvania and commemorating this important moment in our nation's history."
Mr. Spielberg's appearance will be the first of dozens of events planned over the next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the bloody fight which helped to turn the tide in the Civil War, which tore the United States between the Unionist North and Confederate South.
Thousands of visitors are expected in and around Gettysburg as the anniversary draws closer.
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