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Almost half of Brit population joined in VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations smashing previous records

Published on May 18, 2025 at 08:24 PM

A RECORD 31.1million people joined the VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations earlier this month.

Almost half the country took part in some way, by attending street parties, parades or by observing the two-minute silence.

Street party celebrating VE Day in Preston, England.
A record 31.1million people joined the VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations earlier this month
A 100-year-old World War II veteran is kissed on each cheek by two women in military-style uniforms while holding a Union Jack flag.
Veteran George Durrant, 100, who received the Burma Star, proudly waves his flag as he receives kisses
An elderly couple, both RAF veterans, share a kiss on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
RAF veterans Kathleen Lawrence, 101, and husband Roy Lawrence, 100, at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire
A reporter interviews a veteran in a wheelchair at a VE Day anniversary event.
The Sun’s Mike Ridley interviews veteran Bernard Morgan, 100
Veteran Jim Bowes dancing with a staff member at a VE Day tea party.
Jim Bowes dances with a member of staff at Erskine Veterans Home in Bishopton, Scotland

It smashed the record set by the late celebrations in 2022, when 16.8million people took part.

, whose Together Coalition helped promote the commemoration, said: “The historic levels of participation tell us there is a desire to connect with our shared history and to celebrate shared values together.

“At a time when our politics is more fragmented than ever, it’s all the more welcome our country is still able to come together to celebrate what we have in common.”;;

The events marked since the end of in on May 8, 1945.

A military parade past was watched by the .

Thousands of were also set up across Britain.

A service was held in and 10,000 people joined and at a pop concert on .

King Charles III and a veteran at a VE Day concert.
King Charles with veteran Harry Richardson, 107, during the anniversary
Prince George and Princess Catherine with a World War II veteran at a Buckingham Palace tea party.
Prince George and Kate meet veterans at a tea party in Buckingham Palace
Group of World War II veterans at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Veterans pose for a picture at the National Memorial Arboretum

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