D-Day 80: Commemorations for the 80th Anniversary

The report published by the House of Commons Library on 28 May 2024.

Report (in .pdf format)

SUMMARY

This research briefing from the UK House of Commons Library, dated 28 May 2024, details the planned commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944.

The commemorations will occur in the UK and France during the first week of June 2024. The UK’s National Commemorative Event will be held in Portsmouth, with the main event in France taking place at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. This is the first time a major commemorative event will be held at this memorial, which was officially opened in 2021.

Other events will be held at the Bayeux War Cemetery in Normandy, the final resting place of over 4,000 British and Commonwealth service personnel who died during the landings.

The briefing also details other events planned in the UK and Normandy, including services of remembrance, concerts, firework displays, and ceremonies. It also provides information on how UK veterans can apply for the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit, which is being awarded to surviving veterans of the Normandy Landings.