Beacons will be lit from coast to coast, church bells rung and street parties held during a three-day commemoration for the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, it was confirmed yesterday. The long weekend of events beginning on Friday May 8, the day after the general election, will include a televised Forties-style concert in London’s Horse Guards Parade. The VE Day celebrations are a victory for the Daily Mail which had highlighted mounting concern that the anniversary risked being overshadowed by the election. Street parties will be held to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. Above, revellers celebrate the 50th anniversary in 1995 . Singer Dame Vera Lynn, the Forces’ Sweetheart who will be 98 on Friday, was among those who called on the Government to do more to mark what is likely to be the last major anniversary at which the generation that fought at home and abroad in the war is able to gather in strength. Last month David Cameron responded and asked Cabinet minister William Hague to draw up plans for three days of national commemorations, which he unveiled yesterday. Party leaders, senior royals, veterans and organisations whose members played a part in the war effort will gather on May 8 to mark a day of remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. The timing will make it an even more extraordinary occasion, starting as final results are announced for a general election most pollsters predict will result in another hung Parliament. Ministers and their shadows are likely to gather not knowing with any certainty who will be in power after any coalition negotiations. At 3pm, the moment on May 8 1945 that Winston Churchill declared an end to war in Europe, there will be a two-minute silence across the country. Schools are being encouraged to hold events and observe the silence. On the Friday evening, a chain of more than 100 beacons will be lit at locations from Unst in the Shetlands to Lowestoft in Suffolk. Crowds cheer and wave outside Buckingham Palace on VE Day in 1945 as the King and Queen appear on the balcony . Party leaders are expected to gather at the Cenotaph during the festivities. Above, Winston Churchill waves to gathered crowds on May 8 1945 . On Saturday May 9, communities are being encouraged to organise street parties. At 11am churches and cathedrals are being asked to ring their bells, as they did in 1945. The celebrity Forties-themed concert that evening in Horse Guards Parade, behind Downing Street, will be shown on BBC1. Then on the Sunday, May 10, a service of thanksgiving will be held at Westminster Abbey, followed by a parade of Armed Forces personnel and veterans from the war. They will march past the balcony of the Treasury where Churchill made his famous appearance in front of the crowds on VE Day. There will be a flypast of modern and Second World War aircraft and a display of period vehicles in St James’s Park. Mr Hague said the commemorations would ‘pay fitting tribute’ to the wartime generation. Eric Goldrein, 94, from Liverpool, who was in Italy with the Royal Artillery when the war ended, said: ‘I’m looking forward to being part of these 70th anniversary celebrations. We celebrated in a field. The signallers set up speakers playing music and the locals came out and joined in too.’ The Prime Minister said: ‘VE Day is one of the most pivotal moments in our nation’s proud history. After years of all-out war – and the untold sacrifice of millions at both home and abroad – this day marked the moment when the threat of Nazi brutality was finally lifted. As a nation, it is vital that we remember the 70th anniversary of this historic day.’ The 50th anniversary of VE Day in 1995 saw celebrations across the country, while hundreds of thousands of people assembled in Hyde Park for concerts and ceremonies.
Long weekend of events will begin on May 8 after the general election . It will include a Forties-style concert in London's Horse Guards Parade . Celebrations are victory for the Daily Mail's campaign to commemorate anniversary .