UK Marks Victory In Europe Day

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) LONDON, May 5 (KUNA) -- Victory in Europe Day celebrations kicked off outside Parliament Square in central London on Monday, to mark the historic moment the Second World War ended in Europe on the 8th of May 1945, when the Allies accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany.
Britainآ's grand celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, have started with a large-scale military procession and a dramatic flypast. Celebrations will be held until next Thursday.
More than 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, including The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The Kingآ's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, led the procession from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.
The parade concluded with a flypast of 23 current and historic military aircraft, including the Red Arrows, Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets, and Second World War-era planes from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
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 and 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 Forceآ's Red Arrows painted the skies red, white and blue.
At Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen hosted a tea party for veterans and members of the Second World War generation.
Street parties, concerts and a military flypast are just some of the ways the country is marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
On Tuesday 6 May, there will be an installation of 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London for the VE Day anniversary.
In the evening of 7 May, an anniversary concert will take place in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.
On Thursday 8 May, events planned to mark VE Day itself will kick off with a service in Westminster Abbey, with 1,800 people invited to attend including the King and Queen, veterans, politicians and charities. (end)
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