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Darlington to celebrate VE Day 75 with virtual street party

Darlington to celebrate VE Day 75 with virtual street party
01 May 2020

Celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day are set to continue in Darlington with a virtual street party.

Although the long-planned celebrations in the town centre have sadly had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak, councillors and staff at Darlington Borough Council are determined to make sure VE Day still goes with a swing.

The virtual street party will take place all day on Friday, May 8 on the council’s Facebook page, featuring performances from a variety of local singers and contributions from staff at Head of Steam Museum and Crown Street Library.

Councillor Heather Scott, leader of Darlington Borough Council, said: “VE Day is a key day in our nation’s shared history, when we pause to remember the end of World War 2, and we had so much planned to celebrate the 75th anniversary.

“Although in the current circumstances we are not able to do that in person, we’re still aiming to make the day a special one and bring people together in a virtual sense.

“A big part of the day will be based around contributions from our residents and I do hope people take part, whatever their age.

“The last few weeks have shown so many examples of how the people of this town can pull together when the going gets tough. Let us take the opportunity now to celebrate together.”

Darlington residents can get involved in a variety of ways – pictures or videos can be sent on the following themes:

  • Performances of classic war time songs, or even dances – you can even get dressed up to look the part
  • Pictures of your VE Day preparations – flags, bunting, window posters, floral displays, or even cakes!
  • We would like to pay tribute to Darlington’s veterans – whether vintage photos of relatives no longer with us or pictures of veterans as they are today, along with their stories. If you have family medals you’re proud of we’d love to see pictures of those too, perhaps modelled by youngsters.

Please send all pictures and videos to [email protected] – please include as much information as possible including names and ages of the people in the images and any background information you think is useful, particularly about veterans.

Any videos shot on a mobile phone should be filmed horizontally.

We’ll share them throughout the day on Friday, May 8 as part of the celebrations.

Official Government guidance continues to advise against mass gatherings. People are asked to celebrate VE Day at home and avoid gathering in the street.

“The last few weeks have shown so many examples of how the people of this town can pull together when the going gets tough. Let us take the opportunity now to celebrate together”

- Councillor Heather Scott

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