VE Day 70: A Party To Remember was a 1940s themed concert and party held on Saturday 9 May 2015 on Horse Guards Parade in London. It was hosted by The Royal British Legion, as part of the three-day celebration to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
The concert was presented by Chris Evans, and performers included (in order of first appearance):
Diversity – dancing to Puttin' On the Ritz and Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)
Richard E. Grant – Ministry of Information advice
Colin Salmon – Ministry of Information advice
Alexander Armstrong – We Must All Stick Together (by Ralph Butler & Raymond Wallace), London Pride
Collabro - We Must All Stick Together, Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
Bernard Cribbins – words of Jeffrey Illey, ten year-old evacuee
Status Quo – In the Army Now
Robert Lindsay – Winston Churchill May 1940, August 1940 and May 1945 speeches
Laura Wright – Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye
Katherine Jenkins – He Wears A Pair of Silver Wings, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, We'll Meet Again
Pixie Lott – Sally
Chas & Dave – Run Rabbit Run, Leaning on a Lamp-post, When I'm Cleaning Windows, You Are My Sunshine, We're Going to Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line, Roll Out the Barrel
Elaine Paige – (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover
Honeysuckle Weeks – Chotie writing to Dicker
Laurence Fox – Dicker Writing to Chotie
Gregory Porter – As Time Goes By
Ian Lavender – words of Bill Miles, Home Guard volunteer
Laura Wright, Pixie Lott and Rebecca Ferguson – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Blue – Five Minutes More
Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers – A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, In the Mood
Julia Sawalha – words of Marion Gardner, Land Army girl
Alfie Boe – You'll Never Walk Alone, Run, We'll Meet Again
Jane Horrocks – words of Lt. George. F . Morrison, 7th Battalion of the Royal Highlanders
Martin Shaw – For the Fallen
A message from Dame Vera Lynn was also read out, filmed interviews were shown and actor Adrian Lester read an account of fighter pilot Hugh Dundas. World War II veterans including Chelsea pensioners were guests of honour.
When reading the letter written by Lieutenant Morrison, the last he would ever write, actress Jane Horrocks was overcome with emotion.
The concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 from 7.30pm to 10.00pm, with a later broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD from 8.30pm to 10.25 pm. Ken Bruce provided commentary for the radio broadcast and the event was produced by Mark Simpson for the BBC.
