News  »  VE Day 8 May 2025 Beacon Lighting

VE DAY 80: HOW THE NATION WILL REMEMBER FALLEN HEROES AND CELEBRATE THE PEACE AFTER SIX YEARS OF WAR

On Thursday 8th May 2025 the nation will come together to remember the millions that paid the ultimate sacrifice fighting and securing the freedom we all enjoy today.

Lighting of the Beacon will occur at 930pm on 8 May 2025, in line with all other beacons up and down the country. The Beacon is situated on Sleights Moor (Map reference 94/854 057 (4) 85427 (5) 05732 ).

Everyone is welcome to attend the event held by the parish council and with kind permission of the landowner Grosmont/Sleights Moor Estate. The Beacon is accessible on foot only by hard tracks from Fairhead/Bluebank – there is no parking at the Beacon. Due to the time of year, being in the middle of the ground bird nesting season, dogs are not allowed and all attendees must keep to the tracks which lead to the site.  The ground will be uneven and rough, so attendees should wear appropriate footwear and clothing. The Moor Estate will arrange ferrying of those less able from the Blue Bank car park.  As the event will be at night attendees should bring their own torch to light their route.  Those attending and using the public right of way access routes do so at their own risk.

Bruno Peek CVO OBE OPR Pageantmaster of VE DAY 80 said; “In order to celebrate the eighty years of peace and freedom given to us by the bravery and ultimate sacrifice of so many during WWII as a whole, hundreds of Town Criers will undertake the VE Day Proclamation at 8am, Flags will be raised, Church Bells will be rung, and over one thousand Beacons and several hundred Lamp Lights of Peace will be lit at 9.30pm across the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories on May 8, 2025, with the flames from the Beacons and Lamps representing the ‘light of peace’ that emerged from the darkness of war, and once lit for this occasion, the Lamps can be re-lit again at 11am on Remembrance Sunday for many years to come in tribute to the many millions that sacrificed their lives during WWII.”