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Fact check: Which countries have the most expensive military parades, and how do they justify the costs?
Executive Summary
Countries that stage the most expensive military parades include China, which has carried out state parades with estimated bills in the billions, and smaller but still costly events in Russia and North Korea; by contrast, recent U.S. parades have ranged in the tens of millions (with official Army figures settling at about $30 million for the June 2025 event). Debates over justification split along two lines: governments frame parades as national celebration and deterrent messaging, while critics call them politicized displays and questionable budget priorities [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Billion-dollar spectacles: Why China’s parades dominate global spending
China’s large-scale state military parades are estimated to cost around $5 billion, making them among the world’s most expensive ceremonial displays; these events typically involve massed formations, new weapons unveilings and elaborate ground and air components, all contributing to high logistical and production costs [1]. Governments justify such outlays as strategic signaling—demonstrating military modernization to domestic and international audiences—and as national prestige projects tied to anniversaries or leadership milestones, though such framing also serves political narratives about regime strength and technological progress [1].
2. Russia and North Korea: Expensive parades as regime theater
Russia and North Korea maintain a pattern of large, costly parades that serve dual purposes: showcasing military capability and reinforcing regime legitimacy at home. These parades, often compared to one another in media coverage, function as political theater where the state’s narrative about readiness and unity is foregrounded, and the expense is justified as part of national defense messaging and internal propaganda, even when external observers interpret them as displays of authoritarian symbolism [1] [5]. The financial scale varies, but the public messaging parallels China’s emphasis on power projection.
3. The U.S. outlier: Tens of millions, not billions, but controversy persists
The June 2025 U.S. Army 250th anniversary parade generated official cost estimates that moved from $25–$45 million in early reporting to an Army figure of about $30 million after the event, reflecting costs for moving equipment, personnel housing and production needs [6] [2]. Proponents described the parade as a celebration of service and a demonstration of military capability; President Trump called the expenditure “peanuts compared to the value” of the event, tying it to national pride and his administration’s priorities [3]. Opponents argued the spending diverted resources from family and veteran support priorities [7].
4. The domestic debate: Public opinion and budget priorities
A June 2025 poll found that about six in ten U.S. adults considered the military parade a poor use of government funds, while roughly four in ten approved, illustrating a fragmented public response rooted in competing views about symbolic spending versus practical needs [4]. Critics emphasized the parade’s opportunity cost—funds that could support service members and veterans—while supporters framed it as rightful recognition of the military’s history and capability, revealing a partisan split that often shapes how such expenditures are assessed in public discourse [4] [8].
5. Who pays and what drives the price tag: logistics, equipment, and staging
Key cost drivers reported for large parades include transporting heavy equipment, lodging and feeding participating troops, staging and broadcast production, security, and repairs or maintenance for vehicles—factors visible in the U.S. example where tanks were shipped from Texas and thousands of soldiers were housed in government buildings [6]. For national-level parades in China, Russia and North Korea, additional costs come from new-weapon displays, large-scale multimedia production and ceremony infrastructure, pushing totals into much higher brackets than the U.S. events [6] [1].
6. Comparing narratives: Patriotism, deterrence, and accusations of authoritarian mimicry
Governments present parades as patriotic commemoration and credible deterrence signals; leaders emphasize morale and public recognition of armed forces to justify costs [3] [1]. Detractors counter that spectacle risks politicizing the military and can echo authoritarian practices—critics of the U.S. parade explicitly compared it to Russian or North Korean-style displays—underscoring how similar formats are read very differently depending on political context and intentions [5] [7].
7. What the facts show and what’s left unquantified
The factual record across sources shows wide cost variance: Chinese parades estimated around $5 billion, Russia and North Korea holding substantial but less consistently reported sums, and the U.S. 2025 parade landing near $30 million after official accounting [1] [2]. Missing from these published figures are full lifecycle cost analyses—long-term equipment wear, indirect security costs, and economic ripple effects—leaving open questions about true value-for-money that are central to ongoing debates about the legitimacy of such expenditures [6] [7].