Updated 16 minutes ago
Image source, Getty Images
Tickets have been made available to the public for the main UK events to mark 80 years since D-Day.
The televised commemoration on Southsea Common on 5 June will see tributes to those who took part in the Normandy landings in June 1944.
It will feature veterans’ stories and reflections as well as military musicians and an RAF flypast, followed by an evening vigil event.
About 6,000 tickets were released online at 10:00 BST.
The combined naval, air and land assault on occupied France on D-Day remains the largest invasion by sea in history.
Tens of thousands of allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, marking the beginning of the liberation of Europe from the Nazis.
Earlier this year the Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced the national event on Southsea Common, part of a series of major commemorations taking place in both the UK and in France.
Taking place on June 5, the date that many soldiers set off from the south coast of England, the daytime commemoration will see thousands of members of the public join D-Day veterans and VIP guests to mark the anniversary.
There will also be an evening event, A Tribute to the Fallen, billed as a community vigil for fallen allied soldiers who fought and died during D-Day operations, which will include live music performances and a broadcast from Bayeux War Cemetery in France.
Across both events, about 6,000 free tickets have been made available to the public via online ticket provider Ticketmaster.
Speaking at the event launch, director Brig Anna Kimber, said: “It’s about commemorating the service and sacrifice of those who have gone before and critically it’s about passing on their legacy.
“If we can’t instil this into the youth for them to take forward when they’re not here then it’s all been in vain.”
The last major D-Day commemoration on Southsea Common saw the late Queen Elizabeth II and world leaders, including then-US President Donald Trump, marking the 75th anniversary.
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