{"id":136269,"date":"2025-05-05T10:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T10:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ve-day-80th-anniversary-ceremony-to-begin-with-flypast-and-military-procession-in-central-london-live-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T10:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T10:40:24","slug":"ve-day-80th-anniversary-ceremony-to-begin-with-flypast-and-military-procession-in-central-london-live-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ve-day-80th-anniversary-ceremony-to-begin-with-flypast-and-military-procession-in-central-london-live-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"VE Day 80th anniversary ceremony to begin with flypast and military procession in central London \u2013 live – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

King, Queen Camilla and Prince and Princess of Wales to attend commemorations in London with events scheduled across the UK
Midday BST: <\/strong>The ceremony begins in Parliament Square when Big Ben strikes midday, and an actor will recite extracts from the iconic Winston Churchill VE Day<\/a> speech. A young person will then pass the Commonwealth War Graves Torch for Peace to Alan Kennett, 100, a Second World War veteran who served in the Normandy campaign. The Torch for Peace is an enduring symbol, honouring the contributions made by individuals, which will act as a baton to pass and share stories to future generations.
At 12.10 BST<\/strong> The procession will make its way to Buckingham Palace. The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King\u2019s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will then lead the procession from Parliament Square, down Whitehall and past the Cenotaph which will be dressed in Union Flags, through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall through to Buckingham Palace where the procession will finish.
They will be followed by a tri-service procession group featuring marching members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. Cadets from all three services and other uniformed youth groups will also take part in the procession to ensure the message of VE Day is handed down to a new generation.
The Prime Minister and Second World War veterans supported by the Royal British Legion will watch the procession from a specially built dais on the Queen Victoria Memorial.
The King and Queen will be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales to watch the procession
At 1.45pm BST<\/strong> a flypast featuring the Red Arrows and current and historic aircraft will take place
The King and Queen will host a tea party at Buckingham Palace for veterans, families and members of the wartime generation.
VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community events will take place around the country.
If you or your friends and family have memories of the end of the second world war in Europe<\/strong>, the Guardian community team would like to hear from you.
Do you have stories or photographs of the celebrations? Were you or a family member a child at the time, or still in active service on VE Day<\/a>, and if so where? Perhaps you have letters or mementoes from that period.
You can share yours or your family\u2019s memories, photos and letters by filling in the form in the link below.
Please share your story if you are 18 or over, anonymously if you wish. For more information please see our terms of service<\/a> and privacy policy<\/a>.
Ahead of today\u2019s military procession, Lisa Nandy<\/strong>, the culture secretary, said:
<\/path><\/svg>80 years ago millions of people celebrated the end of the second world war in Europe. This week, we will recreate this moment across towns and cities, in our homes, in pubs and on our streets.
We must do all we can to ensure that the stories and memories of this period in our history are not forgotten. We must not forget the hardships, the heroics and the millions who lost their lives.
We are here because of the sacrifices they made and the horrors they endured. This week, I urge the nation to come together and send a powerful message: we will remember them.
Actor Timothy Spall<\/strong> has been pictured this morning rehearsing Winston Churchill<\/strong>\u2019s 1945 victory speech, in front of the statue of the war time leader. Spall will do this reading at 12pm before the military procession begins.
Here are some images coming in via the newswires today:
At 12pm BST, actor Timothy Spall<\/strong> will read part of Winston Churchill<\/strong>\u2019s VE Day<\/a> broadcast. A military procession will then begin, making its way from Parliament Square<\/strong> towards Whitehall<\/strong>, passing by the Cenotaph<\/strong>, before heading to Buckingham Palace <\/strong>via the Mall<\/strong> near Trafalgar Square<\/strong>. You can see the full procession route in the map below:
At 1.45pm, King Charles<\/strong> and Queen Camilla<\/strong> will watch a flypast of current and historic military aircraft over Buckingham Palace.
People are beginning to gather near the Cenotaph<\/strong> ahead of the procession at noon.
Maria Crook<\/strong>, 69, travelled from Devon<\/strong> to London<\/strong> on Sunday and set up to watch the procession from Whitehall<\/strong> early this morning.
\u201cI think it\u2019s extremely important to pay our respects and honour those who have died for us,\u201d she told the PA news agency.
The 69-year-old, wearing a hat with red, white and blue ribbons tied to it, sat near the Cenotaph and attached a large union flag with silhouettes of paratroopers on it to the barriers in front of her.
Crook said:
<\/path><\/svg>I came for VE Day in 2005 and the atmosphere was fantastic.
I\u2019m going to dash down to Buckingham Palace after I\u2019ve seen the procession. I want to get a great view of the Red Arrows and hopefully see Charles too.
As we await the start of today\u2019s ceremony in London<\/strong>, the PA news agency has been speaking to those that have travelled to the city to watch the parade:
One group of women gathered outside Buckingham Palace<\/strong> have brought along song sheets to pass out to the crowd. They practised singing their songs ahead of the parade.
Mandy Ellis<\/strong>, 67, from the Midlands<\/strong>, said:
<\/path><\/svg>We do all the royal events. I\u2019ve been doing this 60 years now. We all get the gang together \u2013 there\u2019s seven of us come down. The oldest is my auntie Linda, she\u2019s 87. My daughter Cara, she\u2019s the youngest.
Wearing a union flag hat, she said:
<\/path><\/svg>I sing in the local choir, we\u2019ve had some song sheets over the years for different events so I just adapted them at home. We\u2019ve got everything from Land of Hope and Glory, We\u2019ll Meet Again, Pack Up Your Troubles, the national anthem.
It\u2019s the smallest thing we can do to say thank you for 80 years of peace and the sacrifice everyone made.
David Smith<\/strong>, a military royal engineer from 1960 to 1972, travelled from Lincolnshire<\/strong> on Sunday to honour the veterans at the parade. The 79-year-old said: \u201cIt\u2019s about patriotism. It\u2019s what we do.\u201d
Smith has marched at the Cenotaph for 26 years and will watch the parade on Monday from the Mall.
His wife, Muriel<\/strong>, said:
<\/path><\/svg>Where we live in Lincolnshire, the \u2018bomber county\u2019, there is always a bomber base five miles from you. There\u2019s still air raid shelters where we live.
About the parade, the 77-year-old said:
<\/path><\/svg>I just love the songs, the ceremony, everything. I\u2019ve heard some stories about Victory Day. Some naughty stories!
Lizzie McCrae MacIntyre<\/strong>, a retired Women\u2019s Royal Air Force<\/strong> veteran, arrived at the Admiralty Arch<\/strong>, Westminster<\/strong> at 4am to see the parade.
MacIntyre, who travelled from Surrey<\/strong>, said:
<\/path><\/svg>It\u2019s so important to remember those that didn\u2019t make it home. My dad was military, my brother was air force.
Geoffrey York<\/strong>, 71, said: \u201cWe are all ex-military.\u201d
The Household Cavalry<\/strong> veteran said:
<\/path><\/svg>We were here for the coronation, we camped out for three nights for the queen\u2019s funeral. It\u2019s a big day for us to pay our respects.
My dad was a prisoner of war in Tobruk, Libya. He escaped in 1944.
Street parties will be held in towns and cities across the UK<\/strong> as part of the special events \u2013 including community tea parties, 1940s dress-up events, and gatherings on second world war warships, reports the PA news agency.
Local authorities throughout the country have offered support for communities and organisations wishing to hold a VE Day street party<\/strong>, with some councils such as Portsmouth<\/strong> waiving fees to close roads for the celebrations.
The Palace of Westminster<\/strong>, the Shard<\/strong>, Lowther Castle<\/strong> in Penrith<\/strong>, Manchester Printworks<\/strong>, Cardiff Castle<\/strong> and Belfast City Hall<\/strong> are among hundreds of buildings which will be lit up from 9pm on Tuesday.
A new display of almost 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London<\/strong> is also set to form another touching tribute. The poppies have been aranged to resemble a wound to reflect the long-lasting sacrifices made during the war.
A service at Westminster Abbey<\/strong> will begin with a national two-minute silence of reflection and remembrance on Thursday, where veterans will be part of the congregation. Horse Guards Parade<\/strong> will then hold a live celebratory concert to round off the commemorations.
Pubs and bars have also been granted permission to stay open for longer to mark the anniversary. Venues in England<\/strong> and Wales<\/strong> which usually close at 11pm will be able to keep serving for an extra two hours to celebrate on Thursday.
Churches and cathedrals across the country will ring their bells as a collective act of thanksgiving at 6.30pm, echoing the sounds that swept across the country in 1945, the Church of England<\/strong> said.
Photos from VE Day<\/a> in 1945 showed joyous scenes across London as crowds gathered to celebrate victory over Nazi Germany.<\/strong>
Ten years ago, the Imperial War Museum released colourised, amateur footage shot in London on Victory in Europe Day that showed how people in their thousands turned out to celebrate in the capital. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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King, Queen Camilla and Prince and Princess of Wales to attend commemorations in London with events scheduled across the UKMidday BST: The ceremony begins in Parliament Square when Big Ben strikes midday, and an actor will recite extracts from the iconic Winston Churchill VE Day speech. A young person will then pass the Commonwealth War […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}