International Romani Day is celebrated worldwide by Romani people on 8 April. On this day, Romani people celebrate the historic First World Romani Congress. The party was organized by Comité International Rom (CIR) in Orpington, England in 1971.

The main leaders at the first congress were Slobodan Berberski, Jan Cibula, Juan de Dios Ramirez Heredia, Grattan Puxon and Vanko Rouda. The primary speakers present were Donald Kenrick and Mateo Maximoff. There were 30-odd representatives officially certified to the 1971 Congress. This first congress officially approved the use of the term "Roma" instead of "Gypsy" to refer to ethnic Roma.

The International Romani Union was founded in 1977 for the purpose of organizing the Second World Romani Congress, which was held in 1978 in Geneva. Many more people attended the 1978 Geneva Congress. The Third World Romani Congress in Goettingen in 1982 was recognized by the CIR. The 8th of April was not recognized as an international holiday until 1990 in Warsaw during the Fourth World Romani Congress.

International Romani Day admires the day on which Romani people officially sealed their international cooperation and the Romani movement achieved an international sociopolitical dimension. On this day, people commemorate their common culture, language, origins, unity, work and, primarily, their "romipen" ("Romani-ness").

This year the main celebrations will take place in Brno and Prague. Several organizations have collaborated in both cities to organize celebrations. In Prague, a special program of celebrations will be realized combining entertainment, music, dance, and song together with the symbolic display of respect for significant Romani figures. In Brno, this year's celebrations will take place on Svoboda Square as part of Romani Pride Week.

The Romani flag was designed together with Dr. W. R. Rishi, a linguist and Romani studies scholar from the city of Chandigarh in India. He later established the Indian Institute of Romani Studies in 2002, before passing. The flag is comprised of two parallel fields, the lower green one symbolizing Romani people's ties to nature and the upper blue one symbolizing the heavens, philosophy, spirituality, etc.  

The wheel in the centre of the flag, which covers both fields, symbolizes pilgrimage, travelling, and is based on the ancient Indian wheel of fate. It has 16 spokes, the bright red colour of which corresponds to the first chakra, the element of Earth.