VE Day live: UK and Europe hold ceremonies to mark 80 years since end of second world war in Europe
Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey begins after two-minute silence
The thanksgiving service, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) at Westminster Abbey, has begun after a two-minute silence was held across the UK.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales are in attendance, along with UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
There are 1,800 guests in attendance at today’s service, including royals, veterans, politicians, officials, guests and other public figures.
Key events
Winston Churchill’s great-great-grandson Alexander Churchill, 10, lit the VE Day 80th candle of peace during a service at Westminster Abbey today.
The youngster, dressed in a suit and tie, stepped forward and made his way up the steps in front of the altar, where he was handed a flame to light the large cream church candle.
Six young members of the congregation handed out white roses, carried in wicker baskets, to second world war veterans seated in the nave.
Veterans were seen to nod and say “thank you” as they received the symbol of peace.
Alexander later read a prayer for “peace in Europe and across the world”, and for the “sacrifice of those who have gone before us to be honoured in the defence of liberty, justice and peace”.
Kate Connolly
During an ‘Hour of Remembrance’ in the Bundestag to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the war which has just concluded, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier has sharply criticised Russian president Vladimir Putin, for what he called his “historical lies”.
Speaking to a full house of MPs including the new government of chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as Holocaust survivors and other specially invited guests, Steinmeier condemned the Kremlin’s insistence that its war against Ukraine is a “continuation of the fight against fascism”.
“Putin’s war of aggression, his campaign against a free, democratic country, has nothing in common with the fight against National Socialist tyranny in World War II,” he said.
He praised the contribution of the Red Army in the liberation of Germany from National Socialism, which included, he said “Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians” (Georgians, Poles and others) all of who fought under it, as well as for liberating the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz, in January 1945.
“At least 13 million of these soldiers and twice as many civilians lost their lives,” he said. “The Red Army liberated Auschwitz. We will not forget any of that.”
But, he added, with his “historical lies”, Putin was “whitewashing the imperial madness, grave injustice and the most serious of crimes.”
He said it was painful to acknowledge that the “liberators of Auschwitz have become the new aggressors”.
The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus were not invited to the memorial service in the Bundestag, just as they have been excluded from other ceremonies around Germany to commemorate the end of the second world war.
Here are some images of the two-minute silence being observed in the UK:
UK prime minister Keir Starmer gave a bible reading at the service of thanskgiving at Westminster Abbey, before the congregration sang I Vow To Thee My Country.
The lyrics were written by Cecil Spring Rice in 1918, the year the first world war ended.
Here are some images coming in via the newswires of the thanksgiving service taking place at Westminster Abbey in London now:
A national two-minute silence was held at midday in the UK. King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales stood motionless around the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in solemn tribute to those who fought for freedom during the second world war.
The 78 veterans amid the congregation joined in the moment of reflection as they observed the silence.
Peers in the House of Lords bowed their heads. A number of members of the upper chamber, including the lord apeaker, are in attendance at the thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey.
King Charles and the Prince of Wales have laid wreaths of seasonal flowers, which would have been in bloom in May 1945, at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
King Charles did so on behalf of the UK and the Commonwealth, and Prince William for the veterans and the wartime generation, with 99-year-old Ken Hay, who served in the 4th Dorset infantry regiment, at their side.
Thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey begins after two-minute silence
The thanksgiving service, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) at Westminster Abbey, has begun after a two-minute silence was held across the UK.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales are in attendance, along with UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
There are 1,800 guests in attendance at today’s service, including royals, veterans, politicians, officials, guests and other public figures.
The thanksgiving service in Westminster Abbey will begin with a two-minute silence at 12pm BST (11am GMT) which will also be observed across the country, to remember Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, which took effect on 8 May 1945.
A group of young people attending the VE Day service at Westminster Abbey said they were there to challenge stereotypes about their generation, reports the PA news agency.
Georgina Heron-Edmends, 19, Henry Hughes, 21, and Sophia Kaur Badhan, 24, are from Youth Collaborators and are working on a report to influence government strategy on young people.
Kaur Badhan said:
We think it’s really important for young people to be invited to this today.
There’s been some coverage in the media suggesting we aren’t interested in VE Day or don’t know what it is – we’re here to challenge that.
We’re very interested – we think it’s really important and it’s a privilege to be here.
