22/04/2025
Belfast To Commemorate 80th Anniversary Of VE Day
Belfast City Council has announced a series of free events at City Hall on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
Tickets for the events will be available from 9 am tomorrow (Wednesday 23 April) via the Visit Belfast website or by calling 028 9024 6609.
The commemorations will begin on Wednesday 7 May at 7.30 pm with a special evening in City Hall. BBC NI's Tim McGarry and Dr David Hume from "The Long and Short of It" will reflect on Belfast's experiences during the Second World War. The event will feature music and readings from the Northern Ireland War Memorial's Oral History Archive.
Following the indoor event, attendees will move to the City Hall grounds, where a replica Supermarine Spitfire, a key aircraft for the Allied Forces, will be on display. Guests can enjoy a performance by a brass band and listen to a relay of the historic speeches made by Winston Churchill and King George VI on 8 May 1945, announcing the end of the war in Europe.
The Spitfire will be accessible to the public for viewing and photographs from 10 am to 5 pm on Thursday 8 May, with no ticket required for this.
Also on Thursday 8 May, historian Jason Burke will lead free guided walking tours of Belfast city centre at 10 am and 2 pm, focusing on significant locations in the city's wartime history. The NI War Memorial will also run tours at 11 am and 2 pm, exploring the impact of the Belfast Blitz in the Cathedral Quarter.
A tea dance, hosted by Hugo Duncan and broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster, will take place in City Hall from 1 pm to 3 pm. City Hall will be illuminated in red on both Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May as a mark of remembrance.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, reflected on the significance of the occasion: "When VE Day was declared on 8 May 1945, City Hall was lit up in celebration, with crowds gathering in the grounds and a giant street party held in Donegall Square North. 80 years on, the building will once again be a focal point to remember Belfast's wartime experiences, pay tribute to those veterans who contributed to bringing about peace and look back at how the war shaped our city as it is today. The feeling that day was one of jubilation, and our events will provide a chance to experience what it must have been like to be here on 8 May 1945, through music, song and recollection."
In addition to the City Hall events, Belfast City Council is distributing £75,000 in grants to community groups across the city to support local VE Day anniversary events, including street parties, community gatherings, and fun days, taking place from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 May.
For more on the council's VE Day programme, visit belfastcity.gov.uk/events
Tickets for the events will be available from 9 am tomorrow (Wednesday 23 April) via the Visit Belfast website or by calling 028 9024 6609.
The commemorations will begin on Wednesday 7 May at 7.30 pm with a special evening in City Hall. BBC NI's Tim McGarry and Dr David Hume from "The Long and Short of It" will reflect on Belfast's experiences during the Second World War. The event will feature music and readings from the Northern Ireland War Memorial's Oral History Archive.
Following the indoor event, attendees will move to the City Hall grounds, where a replica Supermarine Spitfire, a key aircraft for the Allied Forces, will be on display. Guests can enjoy a performance by a brass band and listen to a relay of the historic speeches made by Winston Churchill and King George VI on 8 May 1945, announcing the end of the war in Europe.
The Spitfire will be accessible to the public for viewing and photographs from 10 am to 5 pm on Thursday 8 May, with no ticket required for this.
Also on Thursday 8 May, historian Jason Burke will lead free guided walking tours of Belfast city centre at 10 am and 2 pm, focusing on significant locations in the city's wartime history. The NI War Memorial will also run tours at 11 am and 2 pm, exploring the impact of the Belfast Blitz in the Cathedral Quarter.
A tea dance, hosted by Hugo Duncan and broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster, will take place in City Hall from 1 pm to 3 pm. City Hall will be illuminated in red on both Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May as a mark of remembrance.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, reflected on the significance of the occasion: "When VE Day was declared on 8 May 1945, City Hall was lit up in celebration, with crowds gathering in the grounds and a giant street party held in Donegall Square North. 80 years on, the building will once again be a focal point to remember Belfast's wartime experiences, pay tribute to those veterans who contributed to bringing about peace and look back at how the war shaped our city as it is today. The feeling that day was one of jubilation, and our events will provide a chance to experience what it must have been like to be here on 8 May 1945, through music, song and recollection."
In addition to the City Hall events, Belfast City Council is distributing £75,000 in grants to community groups across the city to support local VE Day anniversary events, including street parties, community gatherings, and fun days, taking place from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 May.
For more on the council's VE Day programme, visit belfastcity.gov.uk/events
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.