Is VE Day 2025 a bank holiday in the UK?

Thousands of people are set to line the streets in London today to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day.

The celebrations begin today with a Churchill speech performance, a military procession of 1,300 armed forces members and a Red Arrows flypast.

Street parties, barbecues and community gatherings will be held across the country.

The parade will kick off Parliament Square, with a recital of Winston Churchill’s famous VE Day speech, at the moment Big Ben strikes noon.

Alan Kennett, a 100-year-old veteran who served in Normandy, will then be handed the Torch for Peace before the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery lead a procession down Whitehall.

The celebrations will cap off a week of commemorative events 80 years after World War II ended on May 8, 1945.

What VE bank holiday events are on?

VE Day celebrations will begin in Parliament Square, where Harry Potter icon Timothy Spall will read out words from Winston Churchill’s famous victory speech.

The 68-year-old actor, whose roles include Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Chicken Run, will read extracts from the speech in which Churchill told Britons ‘This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.’

A poignant moment will follow, when the Commonwealth War Graves Torch for Peace will be passed from a young person to a 100-year-old Second World War veteran.

Union Jacks will be draped over the Cenotaph and a military procession will take place from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace, via the Mall.

This procession will be watched by the King and Queen, along with other members of the royal family and the prime minister.

Modern fighter jets will take part in the fly past that follows alongside historic Second World War-era aircraft.

The event will culminate in the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows roaring overhead, leaving behind them red, white, and blue smoke.

Street parties will be held across the country on the bank holiday.

The King and Queen themselves will welcome veterans and members of the wartime generation at Buckingham Palace for a tea party.

There will also be an afternoon street party and an evening do at HMS Belfast, the most significant surviving Second World War warship.

Festivities across the country include an open-air music festival in Witton Park, Blackburn, as well as a VE Day picnic in the Shropshire town of Caven Arms.

The Wrentham Brass Band will also be performing Second World War music in Norfolk.

Winston Churchill’s family home, Chartwell in Kent is planning lots of fun activities and music to celebrate his role in the momentous day.

Is VE Day a bank holiday in the UK?

VE Day, May 8, is not a bank holiday.

Instead, the early May bank holiday, May 5, has been dedicated to community celebrations marking the anniversary.

Those wanting to celebrate the on the day itself should not despite, however.

That is because pubs will be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours, allowing revellers to celebrate until 1am on the Friday morning.

How to see Red Arrows fly pass?

The Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team will take to the skies 22 other aircraft for a flypast over Buckingham Palace at 1.45pm today.

A Lancaster Bomber from the Battle of Britain memorial flight, a Typhoon, an A400M Atlas, a C-17 Globemaster, Rivet Joint and Poseidon aircraft are all joining the display.

This maps shows the route the Red Arrows will take, showing where you need to be to see the iconic jets.

The flypast will fly over The Mall and Buckingham Palace at around 1.45pm on Bank Holiday Monday.

The aerobatic team are also flying over parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

After leaving London, the squadron will then fly over Hampshire before landing at Bournemouth airport.

The plans will fly over Beech, near Alton, at around 2pm before passing north of Winchester to Longstock near Stockbridge, 20 miles north of Southampton.

As they then head to Bournemouth Airport for 2.06pm, they will be visible from around Romsey, Ringwood and the northern parts of the New Forest.

The route has been split into zones with expected timings, making it easy to plan a trip to see the aircraft.

Area A: North Sea, Suffolk and Norfolk, between 10.45am – 1.45pm

Area B: East Suffolk (Saxmundham) and Suffolk (East Bergholt), between 12.15pm – 1.10pm

Area C: Suffolk (East Bergholt) and Essex (Colchester), between 12.20pm – 1.10pm

Area D: Essex (Colchester and Witham), between 12.20pm – 1.10pm

Area E: Essex (Witham) and London City, between 12.25pm – 1.10pm

Area F: London City and London Heathrow, between 12.25pm – 1.10pm

Area G: Buckinghamshire (Denham) and Buckinghamshire (Halton), between 12.45pm – 1.25pm

Area H: Buckinghamshire (Halton) and Oxfordshire (Brize), between 12.45pm – 1.25pm

Area I: North west London, between 12.45pm – 1.25pm

How will the UK mark VE Day’s 80th anniversary?

Monday May 5

Union Jacks will be draped over the Cenotaph and a military procession will take place from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace – including the Red Arrows roaring over the capital and beyond.

Street parties will be held across the country on the bank holiday.

Tuesday May 6

The moving display of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, first installed to mark the centenary of the First World War in 2014, will return to the historic fortress.

Wednesday May 7

A Victory in Europe Day Anniversary Concert will be held in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament, hosted by the Parliament Choir.

Thursday May 8

This is the actual VE Day. A service will take place at Westminster Abbey, which will serve as both ‘an act of shared remembrance and a celebration of the end of the war’.

A concert will also take place at Horseguards Parade to mark the end of commemorations.

There’s a good chance a street party will be taking place near you. Those with country parks, gardens, community halls and quiet roads are asked to unfold the chairs and tables and host a party.

And expect a lot of bell ringing, too. Cathedrals have been asked to ring their bells at 6.30pm in a united call to ‘work for peace’, explained Revd Jo Kelly-Moore, chair of the Association of English Cathedrals.

Friday August 15

Marking the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, a service will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The Royal British Legion will partner with the government to honour those who died in the war in the Far East.

How to find VE Day celebrations near me

There is a handy website available to find all the closest VE Day events near to you.

The government has put together this web page to list 780 activities happening throughout the week of festivities.

There is even space to add your own event and get help on how to bring people together to celebrate.

Are supermarkets open on VE Day?

For those wanting to head to the shops during VE Day celebrations, the May Day holiday today may put a spanner in the works.

Some supermarket opening times can vary from store to store as well because of the bank holiday.

ASDA stores will be open as usual this bank holiday weekend.

Co-op will be open as usual over the May bank holiday with the majority of Co-op convenience stores being open from 7am-10pm.

Aldi will be open from 8am – 8pm on Bank Holiday Monday.

Iceland stores will be open as usual during this bank holiday weekend.

Morrisons has said that its Scottish stores will be open as usual and the rest of the stores will be open from 7am to 8pm. Some other stores will be open slightly longer.

Lidl will be open this weekend and will follow regular opening hours.

Most Sainsbury’s stores will be open from 8am until 8pm on bank holiday Monday and the smaller convenience stores will be open from 7am until 11pm.

Tesco will operate its normal trading hours during this bank holiday weekend.

All supermarkets have ‘find a store’ pages so you can double check the opening hours for your local branch.

This article was originally published on April 25, 2025

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