Nationwide 80th VE Day singalong planned

Bruno Peek hopes the country will unite on VE Day to sing the hymn I Vow to Thee My Country

The pageant master for Queen Elizabeth's jubilees said he wanted to "bring the nation together" with a singalong to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Bruno Peek, 74, from Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, masterminded worldwide beacon tributes for the late Queen's golden, diamond and platinum jubilees.

Mr Peek hoped the country would unite at 21:30 BST on 8 May to sing the hymn I Vow to Thee My Country.

"We want the whole country... to stop what they're doing, stand up and sing this wonderful British hymn," he said.

He organised large historical beacon lighting ceremonies to mark major royal events for more than 40 years

"I just felt there must be something that can bring people together that doesn't have any political, religious or any other overtones, that people can sing with a simple heart without feeling they are being pressured to sing it for somebody else," Mr Peek added.

"They're singing it for them [the fallen soldiers] but what they're doing by singing for them, they're singing it together."

He was also the founder of the millennium beacon project, which saw hundreds of beacons being lit around the UK

Mr Peek, who staged the millennium beacon project, was made an OBE in 2000 and became a Commander of the Royal Victoria Order (RVO) in 2022.

He said he had spent months organising events to mark VE Day, with a particular focus on Scotland this year.

"When people think of World War Two, like World War One, so many just think it's England, but they forget the sacrifice the Scots, Welsh and Irish made too," he said.

Mr Peek announced his retirement in October, saying his last act as pageant master would be to mark the 80th VE commemorations in May

He has organised 20 bagpipe players across Scotland to play Celebratum, composed by the piper Stuart Liddell, every morning for 80 days from midday on 12 February counting down until VE Day on 8 May.

A long-term friend, Pipe Major Lady Jane Macrae, will lead the first day of the 80-day countdown.

More than 600 town criers across the UK will also take part in events and church bells will ring to mark VE Day.

His aim is to involve local people and highlight the "grassroots communities celebrating what their relatives did for them"

A beacon lighting ceremony will take place on VE Day to remember those who died in the war and commemorate the last survivors.

"I've always said the light from the beacons always represents the light of peace that emerged from the dreadful darkness of war," Mr Peek said.

"Let's come together, celebrate and commemorate the millions who sacrificed their lives at home and abroad, so that we enjoy the freedom we do today.

Mr Peek believes the VE Day commemorations are "what we want in this world at the moment"