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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Richard Palmer

Fish and chips for VE Day? Battle begins over how UK marks 80th anniversary

Residents in Chester hold a street party to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, 2020.
Residents in Chester hold a street party to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, 2020. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images

People will be asked to eat fish and chips and sing I Vow To Thee My Country around a chain of beacons to mark the 80th anniversary next year of the end of the second world war in Europe.

But the plans for 8 May, which are likely to involve the royal family and local councils, have failed to win the support of the government and the Royal British Legion, who have different – and arguably less traditional – ideas about how the day should be commemorated.

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