VE Day 2025: All the celebrations that marked the 80th anniversary
To mark the historic moment the Second World War ended in Europe in 1945, events took place around the UK this week - and there are still a few more to come.
Friday 9 May 2025 10:07, UK
Street parties, concerts and a military flypast are just some of the ways the country has marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
Victory in Europe Day - to give it its full name - marks the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945, when the Allies accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany.
Four days of celebrations organised by the government ran from Monday to Thursday, while Britons celebrated in their own ways on the streets and in gardens, town halls, clubs and pubs, similar to how people marked the end of nearly six years of war 80 years ago.
Here is everything you need to know about the celebrations - plus the details of a few more community events to come this weekend.
Monday 5 May
Military procession and flypast
VE Day celebrations kicked off outside Parliament Square in central London on Monday.
Actor Timothy Spall recited Winston Churchill's famous VE Day speech, in which he said: "My dear friends, this is your hour.
"This is not victory of a party or of any class. It's a victory of the great British nation as a whole."
Just after 12pm, D-Day veteran Alan Kennett formally started the military procession of 1,300 members of the UK Armed Forces, uniformed services, and young people.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, led the procession from Parliament Square down Whitehall.
The route took them past the Cenotaph, which was draped in a Union Jack flag, up to Trafalgar Square, under Admiralty Arch and down the Mall towards the Queen Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.
The King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, plus the prime minister, were among those who joined Second World War veterans to watch the military procession.
The Royal Family then took to the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a flypast of military aircraft before the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows painted the skies red, white and blue.
Street parties
Various street parties, barbecues and community events were also held on Bank Holiday Monday to mark VE Day.
At Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen hosted a tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation.
William and Kate also joined the party as veterans and senior politicians enjoyed a selection of finger sandwiches, soup and homemade scotch eggs in the Marble Hall.
Afternoon tea parties were also hosted by Sir Kier Starmer in Downing Street and on HMS Belfast, the most significant surviving Second World War warship.
Elsewhere around the country, highlights included an open-air music festival in Witton Park, Blackburn, complete with fairground rides, inflatables, stalls and food, a VE Day picnic in the Shropshire town of Caven Arms and a performance of wartime music by the Wrentham Brass Band in Norfolk.
In the South and South East of England, the Fort Amherst Heritage Trust in Chatham hosted tours of the Napoleonic fort with music, food and drink, while Winston Churchill's family home, Chartwell in Kent, held family activities and live music.
In the Welsh village of Myddfai, nestled in the Brecon Beacons, there was a street party, with attendees invited to bring food, dress in 1940s-style clothing and sing along to wartime songs.
Tuesday 6 May
An installation of 30,000 ceramic poppies returned to the Tower of London on Tuesday for the VE Day anniversary.
The Queen went to view the ornaments, which were originally made in 2014 as part of the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation, which marked 100 years since Britain's involvement in the First World War.
The latest installation, overseen by designer Tom Piper, features tens of thousands of the original ceramic poppies on loan from the Imperial War Museum, as a way to "mark and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many during the Second World War".
A small part of the poppy installation is visible to the public for free, with the main installation located inside the grounds of the Tower. It will remain in place until 11 November to mark Armistice Day.
Historic landmarks across the UK were lit up in the evening. Here are some of the best images:
Wednesday 7 May
An anniversary concert took place on Wednesday evening in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.
It marked 80 years since a newsflash told the nation that the next day would be known as Victory Day.
The Parliament Choir performed pieces of classic music from across Europe and America.
Thursday 8 May
Events to mark VE Day itself kicked off with a service in Westminster Abbey, with 1,800 attendees including the King and Queen, veterans, politicians and charities.
At midday, a two-minute silence was held across all UK government buildings and departments, with other organisations invited to follow suit.
In the afternoon, the Royal British Legion, a UK-based charity that supports veterans, hosted a private tea party for Second World War veterans and their families at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Some 46 veterans joined, including husband and wife Roy, 100, and Kathleen Lawrence, 101, who are believed to be one of Britain's oldest living couples, having been married for 74 years.
In County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, there was a parade of 80 pipers and drummers along Church Street in Enniskillen.
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Augmented reality brings to life the stories of VE Day
King addresses nation at star-studded concert
The government's VE Day programme concluded with an evening concert at Horse Guards Parade, featuring a programme of dance, orchestra and comedy sketches to an audience of more than 12,000 people - including members of the royal family, the prime minister and veterans - as well as many others over a live broadcast.
Radio DJ Zoe Ball presented, while a host of celebrities took to the stage, including British actors David Bradley, Kevin Eldon, Alex Macqueen.
At 9pm - the exact time King George VI addressed the nation to mark VE Day 80 years before - King Charles spoke at the concert, calling on the country to "rededicate ourselves" to "the cause of freedom" and "the prevention of conflict".
Recalling the VE Day speeches, Charles said: "We should remind ourselves of the words of our great wartime leader, Sir Winston Churchill, who said 'meeting jaw to jaw is better than war'.
"In so doing, we should also rededicate ourselves not only to the cause of freedom but to renewing global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy, and to the prevention of conflict.
"For as my grandfather put it, 'We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and established in good will.'"
The Armed Forces charity SSAFA also hosted VE Day 80: The Party at Royal Albert Hall.
It featured The RAF Squadronaires, part of the central band of the Royal Air Force, who performed 1940s songs, and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, who performed the nation's best-loved classical anthems.
A new short film by the National Theatre was also released on 8 May.
The Next Morning, written by stage and screenwriter James Graham, features award-winning actors Julian Glover, Sian Phillips, and Joseph Mydell and takes viewers through a series of stories exploring intergenerational perspectives on the end of the war.
Bringing the day to an end, 2,500 beacons were lit across the UK. The fires were ignited around 9pm, including on the River Thames at London's Tower Bridge, in Folkstone, Kent, Bridport in Dorset, Fairhaven Lake and Gardens in Lancashire and Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
To top it all off, pubs were allowed to stay open for an extra two hours on 8 May, meaning people could raise a glass until 1am to mark the end of the four-day celebration.
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Friday 9 – Sunday 11 May
The government's official events are now over, but there are still some community events around the country continuing into the weekend.
On Friday night, there will be a 1940s style dance in Wouldham, Rochester, with a hog roast, a 1940s wartime band and authentic Second World War jeep.
On 10 May in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, there will be a community concert by the band, bugles, pipes and drums of The Royal Irish Regiment at St Macartin's Cathedral.
In Glasgow on 10 May, there will be a church service at the Veterans Memorial Garden on Baldwin Avenue, followed by a veterans parade. This will finish at the Lincoln Inn where there will be a buffet, music and raffle.
In the Yorkshire village of Catton, there will be a vintage-themed day featuring Second World War memorabilia and vehicles. A similar event is also set to take place in Keelby village hall, in Lincolnshire.