VE Day: Antrim bids to break tea dance world record with wartime vintage event

As part of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe celebrations at Antrim Castle Gardens, the 1940s sounds of big band music are set to bring revellers back to those bright days as the nation celebrated the defeat of the Nazi threat and the coming of peace.

And when wartime dancehall fave rave ‘In The Mood’ by Glenn Miller rings out, the organisers hope to set a new world record for the largest number of people to ever take part in a tea dance.

The previous record was set in Scotland in 2010 when 306 couples danced simultaneously, but the organisers hope to smash that with at least 500 couples twirling their way into the history books this weekend.

A spokeswoman for Antrim and Newtownabbey Council promised the VE Day Party In The Park will be a chance to “step back in time and celebrate the spirit of victory” with “a nostalgic day of music, dancing, and vintage glamour”.

"Dress to impress,” she said. “Embrace the 1930s and 1940s style and dance the day away as we attempt to create Northern Ireland's largest tea dance.

"This is a fun and unofficial attempt to break the record for the world’s largest tea dance, which was set in 2010 when 306 couples danced in Glasgow’s George Square.

"We hope that 500 or more couples will dance together in the sunshine to the classic 1940 Glen Miller song ‘In The Mood’, played by the PM Big Band with the Belfast Swing Dancers at Sunday’s VE80-themed party.”

The event also includes live entertainment from the Victory Rollers as well as Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter tribute acts - bringing, says the council, a modern twist to the voices of the era.

Other VE Day events lined up for the district include beacon lightings in Antrim Castle Gardens and Newtownabbey’s Mossley Mill on Thursday night (8th). The two venues also hold exhibitions on the Second World War and the Holocaust respectively, which last until Saturday.

Events in Belfast include historical walking tours, a tea dance, and a talk on women’s contributions to the war.

The evening also sees a massive event hosted in east Belfast’s CS Lewis Square, starting at 7pm with a parade of marching musical bands and children dressed in evacuee clothing making their way through the heart of the area.

From 7.30pm there’ll be a street party atmosphere complete with wartime singers and swing dancers, while at 9.30pm the event joins with towns and cities across the UK in a moment of national reflection and unity, as commemorative beacons are simultaneously lit all over the country.

In Lisburn, the town crier will deliver an official VE Day 80 Proclamation at Lagan Valley Island at 9am, while the Royal British Legion will lay a wreath at the city’s war memorial at 11am, followed by a Tea Dance at Market Square, from 2pm to 4pm. A parade will march from Market Square at 8.15pm for a beacon ceremony.

The beacons, representing the “light of peace” that spread across the world with the end of the war, are also happening in Newtownards, Ballyhalbert, Enniskillen, and Carrickfergus.