08 May 2020

In Pictures: Then and now – 75 years since VE Day

08 May 2020

Street parties and crowds cheering in Trafalgar Square marked Victory in Europe Day in 1945 – but Friday’s 75th anniversary of the momentous occasion will prove a stark contrast.

The coronavirus outbreak has forced the cancellation of planned celebrations.

But Britons have been urged to bring out the bunting nevertheless, and mark the occasion at home and via online platforms.

Here, we remember VE Day celebrations from the past – with the packed streets of 1945 a far cry from life under lockdown.

Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)
Joyce Digney and Cynthia Covello were famously photographed celebrating VE Day with two sailors in a fountain in Trafalgar Square (Imperial War Museum/PA)
Men, women and children take to the streets of London (PA)
Then and now – scenes in Trafalgar Square (PA)
Comparison shot showing Sir Winston Churchill leaving the Houses of Parliament on VE Day, and how the scene appeared last weekend under lockdown (PA)
Huge crowds at Mansion House, with the Lord Mayor of London on the balcony, in 1945 – and sparse scenes today (PA)
Whitehall during the celebrations – and during lockdown (PA)
A Service of Remembrance to mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day, at the Cenotaph in 2015, and the scene last week (PA)
The 2015 VE Day Parade marking 70th anniversary in Parliament Square, and how it looked last weekend (PA)
Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)
Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)
Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)
Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)
Huge crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square on May 8, 1945, to celebrate Victory in Europe Day (PA)

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