A BEACON will be lit on the seafront to mark the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in Swansea.

Cllr Ceinwen Thomas, Swansea’s Lord Mayor, will light the beacon at the cenotaph adjacent to the promenade at 9.30pm on Friday May 8.

VE Day was the public holiday celebrated on May 8, 1945, to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War Two of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces.

Cllr Thomas said: “It’s hard to believe 70 years have passed since VE Day. I was only a little girl when it happened, but I can remember the celebrations and the sense of euphoria that the war had ended.

“Many thousands of local people gave their lives in World War Two so that their children and children’s children could enjoy the freedom that’s sometimes taken for granted nowadays. The beacon lighting on May 8 will allow us to quietly reflect on the sacrifice of millions across the planet and celebrate the end of a dark chapter in the world’s history when the very future of democracy was at stake.

“Events both here in Swansea and across the UK as a whole will serve as a poignant reminder and celebration of one of the most seminal days in hundreds of years.”

There will also be a service and a parade close to the anti-aircraft gun monument at the city’s river bridges opposite Sainsbury’s on Sunday May 10. Anyone who wants to attend is asked to be there by about 11.45am.

Swansea Council will also broadcast three events live on Castle Square’s big screen – VE70 from London’s Cenotaph on Friday May 8 from 2.30pm, A Party to Remember at Horse Guards Parade on Saturday May 9 from 8.30pm, and The Nation Remembers on Sunday May 10 at St James’s Park from 10am.

Upon the defeat of Germany, celebrations erupted throughout the world. In the UK, more than a million people celebrated in the streets to mark the end of the European part of the war. In London, crowds massed in Trafalgar Square and up The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, appeared on the balcony of the Palace before the cheering crowds.