Britain celebrates 'Victory in Europe Day' in wake of seismic election

London: Britain marked the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) on Friday with events to be attended by top politicians despite chaos in some party ranks following the Conservatives' shock election triumph.

David Cameron was due to attend a London memorial ceremony in his role as prime minister after confounding the pollsters to comfortably hold on to his job. Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat chief Nick Clegg were also due to attend, but were expected to resign the leadership before the event after their parties were routed at the polls.

Triumphant Scottish National Party chief Nicola Sturgeon, whose party demolished Labour north of the border, also travelled down for the event.

With the Tories on course to secure an outright majority, it is a far cry from pre-poll predictions that the event would be held amid political horsetrading.

Putting the political disarray to one side, the country will fall silent for two minutes at 1400 GMT, marking the moment when wartime prime minister Winston Churchill broadcast his historic speech announcing the end of the conflict.

Following six years of air raids, blackouts, economic hardships and fighting that claimed the lives of almost 400,000 Britons, the country seized the chance to celebrate the end of the war on May 8, 1945, with even the future Queen Elizabeth II anonymously joining the ecstatic throngs in central London.

"It took a couple of days to really sink in," 101-year-old veteran John Harrison recalled.

"All you could hear were church bells, which were marvellous," the former officer on board the HMS Belfast warship told AFP.

"When the news came... my team said, 'Well, there's only one place (to be), I think John, and that's the nearest pub.' It was such a relief.

"If we hadn't done the things we did, God knows what the regime would have been like."

A chain of over 100 beacons was to be lit across the country later on Friday and the next day cathedrals nationwide have been invited to ring their bells in celebration.

Commemorations will strike a more sombre tone on Sunday, with members of the royal family, veterans and senior politicians attending a thanksgiving service at London's Westminster Abbey.

There will then be a parade of current personnel and veterans past the balcony of the Treasury building where Churchill made his appearance on VE Day and a flypast of current and historic aircraft including wartime Hurricane, Spitfire and Lancaster bombers.

Queen Elizabeth II is expected to take part in the celebrations in an official capacity, but her first cousin Margaret Rhodes, 89, recently lifted the lid on their night of "wonderful bedlam" as they joined in London's massive street party 70 years ago.

"I think it's one of the things that the Queen remembers with great happiness," Rhodes told the Mail on Sunday newspaper last month. The then-Princess Elizabeth was joined by her sister Margaret on the night out.

"Everyone was kissing everybody and picking up hats and throwing them away, it was euphoria at its most euphoric," she added. "I can't remember if Princess Elizabeth kissed anyone, but kisses were being thrown about very liberally."

She also described how the 19-year-old princess and her 14-year-old sister took part in a conga line in front of shocked diners at the exclusive Ritz hotel.

Joy Hunter, former secretary in the War Cabinet office, recalled the scenes in London as "unreal".

"We stood outside with crowds and crowds of people, laughing and singing and waving flags, shouting for the king and queen. They came out on the balcony with Churchill and a tremendous roar went up.

"We went back down The Mall to Trafalgar Square where there was dancing and singing, people doing congas around the fountains. It seemed unreal."

Gladys Hale, a Londoner who was evacuated from the city during the war but returned for VE Day, described to AFP how the RAF helped liven up the capital's festivities.

"All of a sudden we heard this great big noise, an engine. We said: 'What the hell's that? It can't be the Germans because the war's over.'

"All of a sudden we saw him, it was a Spitfire doing a victory roll. We all looked at each other and said, no wonder we won the war, look at that, it was like magic."