VE Day: What's happening to mark 80th anniversary in your area

Councils have provided grants for street parties and community events to celebrate the brave heroism of Second World War soldiers, but many bodies are holding their own large-scale commemorations too.

The anniversary of VE Day falls on Thursday (8th) though remembrances kick off this weekend with the first of a series of Church of Ireland cathedral services.

Sunday (4th) afternoon sees a service in Belfast’s St Anne’s Cathedral, followed by services in Armagh, Londonderry, Enniskillen and Downpatrick over the following seven days,

Lunchtime on Tuesday (6th) has a special event in Stormont, with MLA Edwin Poots hosting a ceremony including a performance of wartime songs by primary school pupils while the War Memorial Museum NI will provide some memories of VE Day in Belfast.

There will also be a minute’s silence, and a number of historic items and documents will be on display at Parliament Buildings, including a life-size replica of a Spitfire aeroplane. Stormont will be lit in blue on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Belfast’s programme of events begins on Wednesday, with comedian Tim McGarry and historian David Hume looking back at the city’s wartime experiences in city hall, which like Stormont the previous day will have a replica Spitfire in its grounds.

There will be a brass band performance at 9pm, along with a relay of Winston Churchill and King George VI’s historic speeches announcing the end of the war in Europe.

Thursday, the actual date of the anniversary, hosts walking tours of the city centre, as well as the NI War Memorial running tours focussing on the Belfast Blitz, and a sold-out city hall tea dance hosted by Hugo Duncan.

The replica Spitfire will be available to visitors all day, and city hall will be illuminated in red during the evening.

Across the UK, commemorative beacons representing the “light of peace” that spread across the world with the end of the war are being lit on Thursday evening; in Northern Ireland, the markers are happening in Antrim, Newtownabbey, Bangor, Newtownards, Ballyhalbert, Enniskillen, Lisburn and Carrickfergus.

Lisburn is to host major public events on Thursday, turning Market Square into a 1940s-themed tea dance, plus a parade through the city centre and a beating of the retreat in Castle Gardens, as well as a town crier opening the day with a declaration of peace.

Enniskillen sees a parade of 80 pipers and drummers on Thursday evening, while “lights of hope” will shine across the town’s skies for several nights.

Open-air free musical events across the province include the band of the Royal Irish Regiment in Bangor’s Castle Park, and evening of swing music in People’s Park, Ballymena, and flute and accordion bands in Curran Park, Larne.

Larne also hosts a parade from its harbour to Curran Park, highlighting the port’s importance during the war.

Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre features a musical entertainment including a flute band and a choir, while attendees will also enjoy some fish and chips – an iconic dish that was not subject to wartime rationing.

Coleraine holds a contest in which town centre businesses dress their windows in a period theme, plus a “military village” featuring a vehicle display.

Special VE Day flags are to be raised at civic buildings across the province, including the Ards and North Down, Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon, and Lisburn and Castlereagh council districts.

Many museums have set up dedicated exhibitions and events marking the anniversary.

That includes North Down Museum in Bangor hosting a living history on May 11, in which characters from the past speak about life during the Second World War. Re-enacted by members of Valhalla Street Theatre, children and adults can enjoy interacting with them throughout the museum.

​Armagh County Museum has an exhibition showcasing both digital and physical archives of wartime life.

Newry and Mourne Museum is displaying a 1940s Burton suit, originally owned by a Kilkeel man who fought in the North Africa campaign, as well as a “Victory bell” – a handbell bearing the heads of the allied leaders Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, which were manufactured from metal taken from crashed German aircraft and sold to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Says the museum: “A battle souvenir associated with the loss of life is perhaps not so acceptable to modern sensibilities, but it is something that has long been a part of war.”

And the celebrations continue after the anniversary day itself is finished, with Sunday (11th) seeing an attempt in Antrim to break the world record for the largest tea dance ever.

Next week Londonderry will host a restaging of a famous event in May 1945 that saw defeated German U-Boats sail into the city’s port to surrender.

On Saturday May 17, Ebrington Square will recreate scenes from the bustling military base of the 1940s, as living history characters bring the historic surrender of the Nazi fleet and the conclusion of World War II to life. There will also be live music and entertainment reflecting the huge cultural transformation of the time.

​Full details of VE Day anniversary events can be found on local websites.