VJ Day 2020

Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) marks the day Japan surrendered on the 15 August 1945, which in effect ended the Second World War. As with VE Day, this year's VJ Day has been impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Union Flag will be flying at Borough Hall this Saturday (15 August) and there will be a number of other events throughout the day:

At 11am a National Two Minute Silence led by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum. His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will appear in a photo montage series alongside other Second World War veterans. Each veteran will be pictured with an image of themselves from their time in service in a touching tribute broadcast on large screens across the country marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the war.

Armed Forces musicians will lead the nation in a Service of Remembrance hosted by The Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The ceremony will involve a flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum, including the two-minute silence, will be broadcast on BBC One between 9.30-11.30am.

VJ Day 75: The Nation's Tribute will be broadcast on BBC One between 8.30-10.00pm. Filmed at Horse Guards Parade, alongside veteran testimony His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge will give an address which pays tribute to the veterans and the wartime generation, as the Nation honours, thanks and remembers all those who sacrificed so much during the Second World War. The pre-recorded programme, developed with the Ministry of Defence and involving 300 members of Armed Forces personnel, will highlight the scope and diversity of the British military in 1945. It will include a host of famous faces reading tributes, military bands and dramatic visual projection.

Visit the DCMS VJ Day 75 website to learn more about VJ Day and read the stories of veterans who served from the UK and the Commonwealth.