SEVENTY years after the nation broke out in jubilant celebration at the end of the Second World War, Britons will again take to the streets to commemorate VE Day. Three days of festivities are being held across the UK to mark the anniversary on May 8, seven decades to the day after the announcement that Nazi Germany had offered the unconditional surrender to the Allies that brought about the end of the war in Europe.
Veterans will join the Queen and senior members of the Royal Family for a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, beacons will be lit across the country, stars will perform at a 1940s-themed concert held in London, and the Red Arrows, Spitfire and Lancaster bomber planes will take to the skies in a fly-past over the capital. People up and down the land are also being encouraged to get involved in the commemorations by dressing up in clothing evoking the era, holding street parties, taking part in a "thunderclap" moment of noise. On each night of the festivities, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral and Trafalgar Square will be lit with V-shaped lights, mirroring the floodlights that bathed the buildings following victory 70 years ago.
* JUBILANT SCENES: Seventy years after Britain broke out in jubilant celebration at the end of the Second World War, Britons will again take to the streets to commemorate VE Day. Three days of festivities are being held across the UK to mark the anniversary on May 8, seven decades to the day after the announcement that Nazi Germany had offered the unconditional surrender to the Allies that brought about the end of the war in Europe. Above, right, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford lend their support to the Royal British Legion's #KissforVEDay campaign to help celebrate the 70 anniversary. The most famous kiss of the Second World War took place a few months after VE Day, when a sailor was pictured sharing his jubilation with a nurse in New York's Times Square after news emerged of the victory over Japan. The Legion wants thousands of Britons to share their own photos of a celebratory kiss in the lead up to VE Day on Twitter, with the hashtag £KissforVEDay. All the pictures will then be shared on the Legion's commemorative website, www.veday.org.uk. PICTURES: PA
* CHURCHILL: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill waving to a waiting crowd as he leaves the Houses of Parliament after the news of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945