Hoax! Registration for 81st Independence Day ceremony at Merdeka Palace is paid

A Facebook post has circulated claiming that members of the public wishing to attend the 81st Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia Independence Day Ceremony at Merdeka Palace on 17 August must purchase tickets. The post included a photo of Deputy Minister of State Secretary Juri Ardiantoro during a press conference. The post’s narrative stated: ‘The government is truly broke now. People who want to attend the 17 August flag ceremony at the Palace have to battle for tickets. Everything is turned into a business.’ It was accompanied by the caption: ‘New history has been made, just attending a ceremony you have to pay.’

However, based on investigation, the photo in the post is identical to a video from ANTARA YouTube titled ‘Istana umumkan rangkaian bulan kemerdekaan HUT Ke-81 RI, ada pesta rakyat hingga Merdeka Run.’ In that press conference, Deputy Minister of State Secretary Juri Ardiantoro explained that the government will reopen a ‘ticket war’ mechanism for citizens wishing to attend the Proclamation Seconds Ceremony at Merdeka Palace on 17 August 2026. The term ‘ticket war’ does not refer to purchasing paid tickets, but rather an online registration system to compete for limited quota, as the number of participants who can attend in person is restricted. The government is targeting approximately 8,100 participants for the ceremony at the Palace.

The Ministry of State Secretariat also opened registration for the public via the official website pandang.istanapresiden.go.id from 5 to 7 August 2026. According to official information, citizens are only required to fulfil administrative conditions such as uploading their KTP or KIA, an email address, an active phone number, and a recent selfie. There are no provisions requiring participants to pay a registration fee or purchase a ticket. The government also urged the public to only access information through official channels and not to easily trust parties claiming to be the committee who ask for money or personal data beyond the stipulated requirements. Thus, the narrative claiming that the public must pay to attend the 81st Independence Day ceremony at Merdeka Palace is false. The ‘ticket war’ mechanism refers to a free registration system to compete for invitation quotas, not paid ticket sales.