VE Day street parties encouraged across the west

Eighty years after Victory in Europe Day - the end of World War Two in Europe, known as VE Day - people are being encouraged to celebrate the anniversary with street parties.

A flypast, concert, and a Westminster Abbey service are some of the national events lined up over the four-day celebration, beginning on the 5 May bank holiday and continuing through to 8 May.

Local authorities across the west of England are asking people to apply for any street closure permissions or licences as early as possible.

The celebrations reflect the end of World War Two in Europe, as announced by then Prime Minister Winston Churchill over the radio airwaves at 15.00 BST on Tuesday, 8 May 1945.

The announcement came one day after Nazi Germany's surrender, nearly six years after the war had begun in 1939.

Councils are planning local events to mark 80 years since that day, with many authorities, including Gloucestershire County Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council (Banes), waiving the usual street party application fees.

Gloucester City Council will be celebrating VE Day with a reading of the official proclamation on the cross at noon, read by Town Crier Alan Myatt, and lighting the beacon on Robinswood Hill at 21:30 BST.

Sula Lightship - a moored former working ship in Gloucester Docks - will also be illuminated at 21:30 BST with the singing of the official hymn, I Vow to Thee My Country.

Berkeley Castle, in Gloucestershire, is hosting an event showcasing the D-Day Darlings, who featured on ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent, with a Winston Churchill character wandering the grounds alongside World War Two re-enactments.

Banes Council leader Kevin Guy said the historic occasion was a "great opportunity" for communities to come together to honour and pay tribute to the World War Two generation.

He said in waiving road closure charges, the council hoped to encourage groups and communities to jointly commemorate and celebrate the occasion.

North Somerset Council has asked people to put any street closure permission requests in early.

Council leader Mike Bell said: "We've made it as easy as possible to apply for a road closure so people can host street parties.

"There are some safety and legal considerations that need to be in place [so] we're asking people to apply in good time so that we can carry out the necessary work behind the scenes."

Chairman of Somerset Council, councillor Mike Best, is working with Taunton Town Council and others, including the Royal British Legion, on a series of events to mark VE day.

A spokesperson said there would be a flag-raising ceremony at County Hall, Taunton, at 09.20 BST and a wreath-placing ceremony at the War Memorial at Vivary Park, Taunton, at 17.30 BST.

A civic service of celebration and thanksgiving is being held at The Minster in the evening, where there will be a ringing of the church bells in celebration of peace.

They will also hear a reading of the proclamation, lighting of the lamplights of peace, and a reading of the VE Day tribute.

Local schools will be invited to attend along with representatives from military organisations in Somerset.

In Bristol, City Hall will be lit-up in red, white and blue for the duration of the four-day celebration, with union flags flying on College Green's flag poles.

A city council spokesperson said they were encouraging residents' street parties to take place on the 5 May bank holiday, with the council relaxing its process for street parties in line with government advice.

"If you would like to hold a resident street party in Bristol on the 5 May then you have until Friday 4 April [to apply]," the spokesperson said. There will be a charge of £21 for larger street parties.

The Aerospace Bristol museum is celebrating VE Day during the May bank holiday weekend with an event called Spirit of '45: A VE Day 80 Celebration.

It will be offering World War Two tours that will include a visit to the newly opened air raid shelter, with their wartime Bolingbroke plane rolled out of the Conservation Workshop. And there will be World War Two spotlight talks, with other ideas still in the planning stage.

A spokesperson for Visit West said ongoing walking tours around St Nicholas Market continued the theme, with air raid and shelter tours available.

Wiltshire Council is offering guidance online in regard to VE Day celebrations, street closures, and permission or licences needed for events at various venues.

They asked for anyone requesting a road closure to have already had applications in by 13 March.

Plans across the county include a VE Day flag-raising event at the Ludgershall Town Council war memorial and an afternoon tea party hosted by Tisbury Parish Council.

Royal Wootton Bassett will be celebrating with live music, food vendors, army tents and Scarrotts fun fair.

Areas across the region will join the nation in lighting the the beacon of peace at 21.30 BST.

The last big celebration of VE Day took place on the 75th anniversary during the pandemic in 2020, with social distancing regulations in place.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said for this year, the four days of celebrations would mean "people across society will be able to hear our veterans' stories first hand, to reflect and remember".

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