VE Day in pictures: 18 powerful and evocative images that capture the joy of May 8, 1945

Tomorrow, it will have been 80 years since the Second World War in Europe came to an end, after six long, bloody years. Country Life looks back on a remarkable day in history.

Crowds fill the streets of London on VE Day
(Image credit: Alamy)
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Churchill broadcast the end of hostilities of WWII, one minute after midnight

On May 8, one minute after midnight, Sir Winston Churchill, the then Prime Minister, announced the end to War in Europe. In the ensuing hours, millions of people, in the UK and abroad, rejoiced in the news that Germany had surrendered — relieved that the intense strain of total war was finally over. 

(Image credit: The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Crowds fill the streets of London on VE Day

An estimated one million people filled the streets of London on May 8, 1945.

(Image credit: Alamy)

From a balcony in the Ministry of Health Building in Whitehall, Mr. Churchill addresses a huge crowd, 8th May 1945

Prime Minister Winston Churchill waves to a crowd of 50,000 full with the spirit of VE day from the balcony of the Ministry of Health in London.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

VE Day celebrations in London

Ecstatic crowds in Westminster. People dressed in red, white and blue and lit symbolic bonfires to mark the end to blackouts.

(Image credit: Alamy)

Young children in bomb-scarred Battersea in south London with their Union Jacks.

Young children in bomb scarred Battersea with their Union Jack flags.

(Image credit: adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ecstatic crowds celebrating VE Day in Trafalgar Square at the end of World War II, London, 8th May 1945

One of the lions in Trafalgar Square is swamped by revellers.

(Image credit: Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

British girls, of the Picture Division of the London Office of War Information, dance in the street with American soldiers during the V-E Day celebrations in London, May 8, 1945

British girls, of the Picture Division of the London Office of War Information, dance in the street with American soldiers in London.

(Image credit: Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)

The Royal Family and Winston Churchill greet the people from Buckingham Palace balcony' 8th May 1945

The then King and Queen, the two Princesses and Churchill greet people assembled in front of Buckingham Palace. Princess Elizabeth wore the khaki uniform of the Auxiliary Territorial Services (ATS). Her only daughter, Princess Anne, wore largely the same uniform on May 5, 2025, for an RAF flypast which formed part of the 80th anniversary celebrations.

(Image credit: Daily Herald Archive/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty Images)

Ecstatic crowds celebrating VE Day in London's Piccadilly, at the end of World War II, 8th May 1945

People brandishing the UK and US flags in Piccadilly.

(Image credit: Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Dufaycolor colour transparency of Trafalgar Square in London, taken by an unknown photographer in May 1945.

A Dufaycolor colour transparency of Trafalgar Square, taken by an unknown photographer. Nelson's Column is draped in bunting and decorated with the flags of the Allied Powers.

(Image credit: SSPL/Getty Images)

Street party near Clapham Common VE Day 1945 Getty images

A street party near Clapham Common.

(Image credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Mrs Pat Burgess of Palmer's Green, north London is thrilled to get the news that her husband will soon be home for good from Germany, 7th May 1945

Mrs Pat Burgess of Palmer's Green, in north London, is thrilled to get the news that her husband will soon be home for good.

(Image credit: Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Princess Elizabeth VE Day

Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) is greeted by crowds as she tours the East End of London on the day after VE Day (May 9).

(Image credit: Chris Ware/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

St Paul's VE Day 1945 Getty images

St Paul's Cathedral is illuminated with brilliant light during victory celebrations.

(Image credit: Stevens /Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Photos taken abroad

VE Day celebrations, Paris, 8 May 1945. A soldier smothere with kisses by jubilant women

In Paris, a soldier is smothered with kisses by jubilant women.

(Image credit: Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

VE DAY PARADE, NEW YORK CITY

A VE Day parade makes its way through the heart of New York City in the US.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

While watched by a celebrating crowd, women get kissed by US military men at Times Square on V-E Day, May 7, 1945

An enduring image: while a crowd watches on, US military men kiss women in New York's Times Square.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Soldiers read of victory, standing by a German 88mm gun at Verdun, France on VE Day

Soldiers read of victory while standing next to a German 88mm gun at Verdun, France.

(Image credit: Alamy)
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Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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