National Commemoration Day - Sunday 10th July

The 60th Anniversary celebrations will culminate in National Commemoration Day. Sunday 10th of July, falling roughly half way between VE and VJ day, is the date chosen to mark the 60th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War. There will be several major national events held in London on this day, which will be echoed in events and commemorative activity across the British Isles. Click here to see an events map and directions.

What’s On

Service in Westminster Abbey

The day will begin with a service of remembrance in Westminster Abbey. Her Majesty The Queen will join a congregation of WWII Veterans, and the Arch Bishop of Canterbury will give the Address.

Lunch in Buckingham Palace Gardens

A luncheon will be held within the grounds of Buckingham Palace in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen. WWII Veterans from the Armed Forces and the Home Front have been invited to attend.

Reflections of WWII Commemoration Show

The Commemoration Show, held on Horse Guards Parade, is designed to take the audience back in time. National celebrities from film and television will entertain, with music from a tri-Service orchestra and The Bach Choir. The focus will then moves to a period of remembrance. Her Majesty The Queen will give an Address and a two minute silence in remembrance of the fallen will be signaled by HMS Belfast. A Royal Air Force “Missing Man" formation will fly over Horse Guards Parade.

Parade of Banners and Standards

Led by Her Majesty The Queen and a tri-Service band, the banners and standards of Military and Home Front Veterans organisations will be paraded along The Mall into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

Flypast of WWII Aircraft

A fly past of British and American WWII aircraft will pass over The Mall. Her Majesty The Queen will watch from Buckingham Palace Balcony. To mark the end of National Commemoration Day poppies will be dropped from the Lancaster Bomber of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Click here to see a map for these events.