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60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two - Press Information

Updated Friday 8th July 2005

WWII 60th anniversary logo
WWII 60th anniversary logo

This page holds official information relevant to journalists and media personnel seeking to cover the events commemorating the 60th anniversary of World War Two.  It will be updated every day until the end of Veterans Week (Sunday 10 July 2005).

MEDIA CENTRE - ST JAMES'S PARK

The media centre is the central point of coordination for all media activity related to WW2 60th Commemoration events and activities.  The media centre is located in St James' Park on the lake side of the WWII commemorative complex. It has its own entrance which can be accessed along the lake path - see the signs on the gate. All requests for interviews and attendance at events should be addressed through the above contacts or at the centre itself.  The Media Centre is now open for accreditation and all media enquiries.  Daily opening hours are 0700 hrs - 2000 hrs.

Enquiries - call 0207 930 8159 or 07901 510 481, e-mail ww2@defencemediaops.co.uk or attend the centre in person.

There is no provision for media to work out of the media centre, which is established to process media requirements for accreditation, to organise requests for media facilities and provide information relating to the events.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION

In order to accredit, media personnel will need to attend the media centre in person bringing photo ID (passport, driving license), press pass and an editor's/employer's letter confirming participation in the commemorative events (the letter is only required for those journalists not nominated by the media associations.  Contact the Media Centre for more information.

IMAGES, VIDEO AND AUDIO CLIPS

Defence News stories relating to the commemorations and the associated photographs published on the Ministry of Defence website are free to use. High-resolution images are available from the Defence Image Database. Please contact the Media Centre for a download account. Click here to view a selection of audio clips of interviews with Veterans that will be added to throughout the week. The World War Two 60th Commemoration logo is free to use, and can be found on The Veterans Agency Website. Video clips and further information on the events are available from www.thenewsmarket.com/mod.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS - Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th July

The WWII commemoration events will continue on Saturday 09 and Sunday 10 July with a host of events both at the Living Museum in St James Park and off site, including:

Saturday 9th July

  • 12:30 At RAF Leeming, Northallerton, there will be an opportunity to meet RAF Tornado F3 pilots and crews jets taking part in flypasts over the memorial to the women of the Second World War being unveiled by the Queen on the afternoon of Saturday 09 July.
  • 14:00 There are no formal media facilities for the Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, however media interested in pre-filming for this event should get in touch with the media centre or the Westminster Abbey press office.
  • 15:00 Her Majesty The Queen will be unveiling a monument to the women of World War Two. The monument is located in Whitehall and the ceremony will include a flypast of female-crewed military aircraft at 15:00 and 15:20.
  • 21:30 Final night of projections of World War Two images onto Buckingham Palace

Sunday 10th July

  • 11:00 A Service of Thanksgiving will be held in Westminster Abbey with Her Majesty The Queen leading a congregation of WWII Veterans. The Archbishop of Canterbury will give the address.
  • 15:00 The Commemorative show, Horse Guards Parade, is designed to take the audience back in time. Celebrities from film and television will entertain the invited audience, with music from a tri-Service orchestra and the Bach Choir. This will be followed by a period of Remembrance. Her Majesty The Queen will give an address which will be followed by a two-minute silence in remembrance of the fallen. The start of this period will be signalled by the guns of HMS Belfast. An RAF ‘Missing Man’ formation will fly over Horse Guards Parade.
  • 16:15 Led by Her Majesty The Queen and a tri-Service band, the banners and standards of military and home front veterans’ organisations will pass along The Mall into the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
  • 17:00 A flypast of WWII aircraft will pass over The Mall, watched by Her Majesty The Queen from Buckingham Palace balcony. A Lancaster Bomber of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will drop poppies to mark the end of National Commemoration Day.

Until Sunday 10 July - a display of Second World War military vehicles will be parked along the Mall (parallel to St James’s Park).

In addition, the daily displays, demonstrations, and events in the Living Museum will also continue. Media can see reconstructions of a Spitfire scrambling, close combat training and find out about the work of the code breakers of Bletchley Park.

LINKS TO RELATED INFORMATION

RELATED PRESS NOTICES AND SPEECHES