Prime Minister Theresa May reads a letter from Captain N W G Skinner, from the Royal Army Service Corp, written to his wife two days before setting sail for Normandy.

French President Emmanuel Macron takes to the stage and begins by saying: "Let me first thank you sincerely, on behalf of our nation."

He then begins reading the last letter of a young French Resistance fighter executed at just 16 years old in September 1943.

"In life, you must know how to make your own luck," Mr Macron reads.

"On my account, do not bear any worries. I kept my courage and my sense of humour to the very end and I will sing 'Sambre et Meuse' because it was you, my dearly beloved mother, who taught it to me.

"The soldiers are coming to get me. I hope it is quick."

During a radio message, President Roosevelt led the nation in a prayer ahead of the D-Day landings.

President Trump takes to the stage to read the same prayer: "Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation, this day, have set upon a mighty endeavour; a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilisation; and to set free a suffering humanity.

"They will lead thy blessings for the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces, but we shall return again and again.

"And we know that by thy grace, and by the righteous of our cause, our sons will triumph.

"Some will never return. Embrace these father, and receive them, the heroic servants into thy kingdom. And O Lord, give us faith, faith in thee, faith in our sons, faith in each other, and faith in our united crusade.

"Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen."

Actress Sheridan Smith has taken to the stage to sing Vera Lynn's hit, When The Lights Go On Again.

The song was written during World War Two and was originally recorded by Vaughn Monroe in 1943.

The song features the lyrics: "And the boys are home again all over the world. And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above. A kiss won't mean goodbye but hello to love."

Emily Ford
BBC South

It's starting to kick off at a protest against President Trump in Guildhall Square, away from the D-Day event on Southsea Common.

In a moment the peaceful protest was transformed by a group of men storming the event shouting “shame on you” and "scum".

In return protesters could be heard chanting "Nazi scum, off our streets".

It's not clear whether the group of men, some wearing American flags, are Trump supporters or angry at the protest being held at the same time as the D-Day commemorations.

Some men looked ready to start a confrontation but police were quick to intervene.

French actress Antonia Desplat reads an extract from the diary of Violette Leduc, a civilian living in Paris when France fell to German forces in World War Two.

In it, Miss Leduc describes leaving the city with her mother saying: "Paris was a human ruin."

She adds: "Suburbanites hang out of their windows to watch us pass, our misfortune had become a funeral cortege."

Image source, PA

Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill's famous wartime speech is being replayed:

"We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Emily Ford
BBC South

Simon Magorian, from Portsmouth Stand Up To Racism, has described an anti-Trump demonstration in Guildhall Square as the “people’s D-Day where people are fighting racism”.

He tells the crowd: “None of us would be standing here if it wasn’t for the veterans, let’s actually have a round of applause for the veterans, we must remember their sacrifice.”

Protesters are planning to visit a war memorial later, lay a wreath and hold a minute’s silence at about 12:00 BST.

Many people are holding placards with the words “no to racism” or "build bridges not walls”.

Others are holding up signs of comments made by President Trump...

British actress Celia Imrie begins with a reading: "Hundreds of thousands of men set out on a journey. A journey all the more remarkable as it held no promise of return.

"Today, these veterans represent those countless fathers, husbands, brothers and sons who departed these shores not knowing if they would ever see home again."

"On 5 June 1944, the view here on Southsea Common was very different. This was not green and open land, but a sea of uniforms, an ocean of men. Together, they waited to cross the Channel."

A poignant video, featuring veterans of D-Day from around the world, is being played to the crowd.

The veterans featured include former Canadian soldier Lance Corporal Bob Roberts.

He says: "We did what we had to do."

The D-Day commemoration event begins with world leaders standing for the UK national anthem.

With world leaders, including UK PM Theresa May, the D-Day commemoration event is formally under way in Portsmouth.

It begins with a guard of honour which has just made its way on to the main stage.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Ashley Barnes

BBC Radio 5 live listeners have been getting in touch with their family stories of D-Day.

Ashley Barnes from Sheffield told us about his father Ronald Barnes, who was in the Merchant Navy Reserve Pool. When his ship was put into be repaired in March 1944, he was trained up to skipper a landing craft for D-Day.

“My dad was the one who picked up the troops in a landing craft and took them onto the beach.

“At 07:30 on 6 June, he was landing a load of Canadian soldiers on Juno Beach.

“A terrifying experience for him, he could see the landing craft to the left and right being hit.

“The poor soldiers standing at the front were immediately killed, the machine guns were scraping the boats.

“He always said he wanted to drop them off and get out of there as quick as he could, because it was horrific.

“The Canadians kept asking him what it was like out there, and he thought, ‘I can’t tell these men what this experience is like’… so he was reassuring them it was fine.

“Later, when he went back to visit the beaches with my mum about 20 years ago, he said, 'what I really want to do is have a look to see what’s the other side of the beach', because he’d never seen that.”

Ashley says his father was always grateful for his good fortune - he had a number of brushes with death - and shunned the idea of being a hero.

"We were just frightened boys," he told Ashley.

Tell your family story @bbc5live, external / Text 85058

Leaders of the UK's main political parties have arrived at the D-Day commemorations.

Earlier, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to those who "laid down their lives in the fight against fascism".

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable tweeted: "Today is about the veterans, not Trump."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted that it would be "a privilege to represent Scotland" at today's event.

BBC Radio 5 Live