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Street parties and torch processions to mark VE Day

Galya Dimitrova
BBC News
Sophie Law A group of people celebrating VE Day with a picnic outside. They ate smiling for the camera. One of the women has a Union Flag dress on. There is a dog under the picnic table, which is covered with food and drinks. VE Day bunting and other decorations can be seen behind them. Other people are seen in the distance. It is a sunny day.Sophie Law
Oxfordshire residents are encouraged to mark the 80th VE Day anniversary with street parties and picnics (2023 celebrations pictured)

Street parties, live 1940s-style music events and beacon lighting alongside the River Thames in Oxfordshire will mark 80 years since VE Day.

Oxford City Council is waiving the road closure charge to encourage residents and community groups to host street parties.

Historical displays and the traditional throwing game Aunt Sally will also feature in the week when the nation celebrates the end of World War Two in Europe.

Church bells will ring out and beacons will be lit across the UK on VE Day, 8 May.

Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum A view of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum exhibition on VE and VJ Day. It hs banners with information on Celebrating VE at Home in 1945 and Gladys Saddler. Several items such as a hat, a vest and a box are behind glass. An edge of a table covered with a union jack cover is beside them.Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
An exhibition at Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is dedicated to local celebrations of VE and VJ day in 1945

On VE Day, 8 May, Abingdon will begin commemorations with the town crier's proclamation from the County Hall roof at 09:00 BST.

Banbury Town Council promises a "true street party experience" in the town hall with live music, stories and military vehicles on display.

Bells will be run at churches in Bicester, Thame and Witney in the early evening, while beacon-lighting ceremonies take place in Henley-on-Thames and Blenheim Palace in Woodstock.

In Oxford, the union flag will fly over the Town Hall and bells will peal at Carfax Tower.

In Rose Hill, the Social Club will celebrate with an evening of music and Aunt Sally games, a traditional English pub game where players throw batons at a wooden skittle or "doll" placed on top of a post.

A red and white sign reading Road Closed for Street Party. There is white, blue and red bunting put up for a VE Day celebration.
Lord Mayor of Oxford Mike Rowley said the authority was waiving the road closure charge for small street parties because "we want to make it as easy as possible for people to take part"

On Saturday 10 May, Woodstock will host a "a street party with living history", Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum displays, military vehicles and live 1940s-style music.

A rally of MG cars will take place in Abingdon Market Place on Sunday 11 May and an exhibition of the role the car factory played in the war effort.

The streets of Wantage will come alive for a vintage party, where people are invited to come dressed in their "finest 1940s attire" for a fancy dress competition.

Mike Rowley, Lord Mayor of Oxford, said the anniversary was "an important opportunity for us to come together to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the wartime generation".

"VE Day is a defining moment in our history and this may be one of the last opportunities we have to thank the surviving veterans, so we should celebrate them in style.

"By waiving the road closure charge for small street parties, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to take part."

Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum A man with a top branded Lee Enfield Rifle Project giving a presentation on the project. He is standing next to a glass display of a rifle with signatures of more than 130 World War Two veterans from across the forces. Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Visitors to The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum can also see the Lee Enfield Rifle Project, which has signatures of more than 130 World War Two veterans, men and women, from across the forces

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