Party like it’s 1945
VE Day celebration at Albert Hall sells out after support from Mail. But it WILL be on live in cinemas, so you can...
IT is remembered as one of the most joyous days in history, with vast crowds filling central London and street parties across the land as Britain marked Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945.
Now, 75 years on, the whole country is preparing to celebrate all over again.
Such is the public demand for a commemorative event in the Royal Albert Hall on May 8 – supported by the Daily Mail – that plans were announced yesterday to screen the show live in cinemas all over Britain.
Tickets sold out almost immediately after we announced our spectacular night at the concert hall. However, you do not need to be in central London to enjoy an evening of fabulous music, wartime classics, historic readings and unalloyed patriotism in aid of our oldest Forces charity.
The whole show – featuring the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, the Military Wives Choirs, special guests, VIPs, members of Sir Winston Churchill’s family and, above all, the veterans – will be broadcast live to more than 400 cinemas on the night.
Today’s Daily Mail includes details of how win two free tickets at a cinema of your choice, with 500 pairs set aside for our readers. The evening will raise funds for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, which has been supporting service personnel of all ages and their families for 130 years. Last night, the charity’s chief executive, Sir Andrew Gregory, welcomed the news that everyone can now be part of the action.
‘Bringing the nation together to commemorate this pivotal date in world history is absolutely fitting and we are delighted that this poignant concert will be accessible in cinemas for the public as a whole on VE Day,’ he said. Yesterday, with 100 days to go before the anniversary, the Royal British Legion unveiled plans to include as many members of the wartime generation as possible for events commemorating both VE and VJ Day, which marks Victory in Japan in August.
To mark the 100-day countdown, the Legion took Second World War veterans on a tour of schools around Britain. Among them was
Sandhurst Primary School, chosen because it endured great tragedy during the war. On January 20, 1943, the school in Catford, southeast London, was hit by German bombs, which killed six teachers and 38 children.
Year 6 pupils at Sandhurst heard from veterans including former soldier Mervyn Kersh, 95. He was only 19 when he set foot on Gold Beach in Normandy on D-Day, following a party of ten comrades that was torpedoed – leaving just one survivor. They also heard from Marzena Schejbal, 95, who was 20 when she was among 5,000 women who fought in the Warsaw Uprising before seeing out the war in a German prisoner of war camp.
The civilian-led revolt was triggered after Soviet forces arrived to liberate Poland in 1944. ÷For further details of VE Day 75 With The Daily Mail visit the website www.veday75.co.uk.