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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Bill Bowkett

Landmarks across Britain lit in red, white and blue to commemorate VE Day anniversary

Landmarks across Britain basked in red, white and blue on Tuesday night to celebrate 80 years since Britain declared victory over Nazi Germany.

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Battersea Power Station were among the buildings lit up as part of VE Day commemorations.

The nation is uniting to mark the anniversary with four-days of celebrations, which began with a spectacular RAF flypast over the capital on Bank Holiday Monday.

The King and Queen joined senior royals as they watched 23 current and historic military aircraft soar over Buckingham Palace.

Big Ben (AP)

And on Tuesday night, 83 monuments and attractions across the four nations and Channel Islands dazzled with British spendor to mark the special occasion.

The displays took place at 9pm and saw the likes of Big Ben, 10 Downing Street and St Paul’s Cathedral mark the occasion.

Other sites in London that shone the colours of the Union flag included the Twickenham Stadium, The Shard and several bridges across the River Thames.

Buckingham Palace (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Buildings across Penrith, Manchester and Blackpool were also flooded with patriotic light.

The illumination came after 30,000 ceramic poppies were installed at the Tower of London in a powerful new display that was visited by the Queen.

A service at Westminster Abbey will begin with a national two-minute silence of remembrance on Thursday — exactly eight decades since then-prime minister Sir Winston Churchill declared that German forces had surrendered.

Blackpool Tower (Peter Byrne/PA)

Meanwhile, churches and cathedrals across the UK will ring their bells at 6.30pm.

Pubs and bars in England and Wales, which usually close at 11pm, will be able to keep serving for an extra two hours on Thursday.

Britons have also been urged to unite in streets, gardens and pubs, similar to how the country marked the end of the Second World War.

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