Get Your Flags In Time For VE Day’s 80th Anniversary

In these febrile days with talk of war in Europe and the need for Britain to ramp up military spending, there may just be a greater appreciation for those in previous generations who really did have to put their bodies on the line to tackle tyrants that threatened the civilised world with their tyranny.

This being the case, the 80th anniversary of VE Day may have a particular resonance about it. In addition, like any anniversary with a zero at the end of it, there is a sense of a landmark and a slightly poignant one at that, for each passing year means there are fewer veterans left to take part in the commemorations.

Events like this can be marked in all kinds of ways. At a national level, there will be a grand set-piece commemoration in London, with the Union Flag draped across the cenotaph, a display of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, a concert for 10,000 people, a service at Westminster Abbey and a flypast by the Red Arrows.

Events will begin on May 5th, the Bank holiday Monday, lasting for four days, with VE Day itself - the date the Nazi surrender was accepted by the allies - falling on May 8th.

In the capital, HMS Belfast will host a street party, but there will be other street parties all over the country, with the public being encouraged to host events to mark the occasion.

No doubt lots of public buildings will be keen to fly flags for VE Day, but so will sports clubs great and small, private schools, working men’s clubs, political parties, churches and many, many more civil society organisations and their premises.

These flags will not just be commemorative and send the signal that the sacrifices made by a previous generation have not been forgotten - and, indeed, may be honoured when necessary in an increasingly dangerous modern world - but will also contribute to the atmosphere of a street party or other commemorative event.

If you do plan on arranging a street party, there are lots of guides out there on how to do it. You could take inspiration from the VE day 75 ideas from 2020 (which were largely shelved due to Covid lockdowns) and put up Union Flag bunting, bake red, white and blue cakes, do a tea party, dress in 1940s style clothes and even sing along to a few songs from the time.

The nature of parties may vary, of course; some people will have big back gardens or properties with a large field (such as a sports club). Some may have a quiet side road more suited to a street party than those living on busy streets.

Those who live near an airfield may even be lucky enough to see old military aircraft in the skies for the occasion. Sadly, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, featuring the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster Bomber, will not take part after the grounding of the planes following a fatal Spitfire crash.

Britain’s most iconic military aircraft may not fly over your roof on VE Day, but you can make sure a very grand flag does.