Image source, Reuters

International leaders are attending a ceremony at Omaha Beach in the town of Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

More than 25 heads of state are in attendance alongside veterans, officials and the general public.

Among them is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has just arrived and received a standing ovation as he entered the venue.

A giant picnic is set to be organised on the beach followed by a concert and a fireworks’ display.

You can watch along by pressing play on the stream above.

There are now only around half a dozen surviving Welsh veterans who took part in D-Day operations.

They include Bill Davies, 101, from Porthcawl, Richard Thomas Pelzer, 100, from Swansea, and Don Jones, 99, of Mold, Flintshire.

Each of their experiences of the Normandy landings were unique, although their stories share common themes.

All three were conscripted as teenagers. They can recall the fear they felt that day, and the friends they fought alongside.

Davies was in the RAF and landed at Arromanches in Normandy, which was at the centre of the Gold Beach landing zone.

He remembers being "flabbergasted" when he arrived and stepped onto the beach, with little idea of what he was supposed to do next.

Read more on their stories here.

Victoria Bourne
Reporting from Arromanches

Image source, PA Media

Hundreds of people gathered by the square in Arromanches, some even hanging out of windows, to catch a glimpse of Prince William on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The Prince of Wales has just met British veterans in the town, which sits along the stretch of coast known as Gold Beach.

The Prince briefly greeted some of the crowd, who were delighted by his appearance here. When he walked away there was an applause and enthusiastic cries of "William" ringing out.

Many British people come to Arromanches to soak up the atmosphere. The town is adorned in flags from the countries of the Allied Forces. It was one of the first to be liberated by British troops in Normandy.

Image source, PA Media

Victoria Bourne
Reporting from Normandy

On Gold Beach in Asnelle, hundreds of people gathered to see the modern day successors of the small boat operators of D-Day.

Forty-seven Commando Royal Marines onboard four landing craft retraced the steps of those who fought 80 years ago today.

Among the crowds was World War Two RAF veteran Jack Hemmings, who travelled to Normandy from East Sussex.

He was there to remember his good friend, Stuart King, who was an engineering officer in the Typhoon Squadron during the Normandy Landings. He survived the campaign but died during the pandemic.

Jack said being here on the anniversary today was "very moving".

"To think of the brazenness of their landing and people didn't think of themselves, 'Is this safe? Shall I do it?' or chicken out. Everybody had a part to play. And if that part was walking off a landing ship into machine gun fire, you went and did it."

On what he made of the legacy of those who fought during World War Two, he said: "The older you grow, the more you realise human beings are pretty stupid really."

He said today "national leaders are waging wars to gain land. It's barmy, there are enough problems in the world without having to make your neighbour a problem".

Just a few moments ago, we heard President Biden address D-Day veterans in Normandy.

"The struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending," Biden said. He then went onto highlight the plight of Ukraine, which he said he been "invaded by a tyrant".

Watch the full clip below:

As we reported earlier, Ukrainian President Zelensky is in Normandy to join world leaders for commemoration ceremonies honouring the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Zelensky has been pictured arriving at Caen airport in France with first lady Olena Zelenska, being greeted by officials.

We haven't heard any reaction from him yet to President Biden's speech, but we'll bring you that when we have it.

Image source, Reuters

As his speech draws to a close, Biden thanks the forces who "did their duty" on D-Day - and invites the audience to ask whether we would do the same in our "hour of trial".

He says: "We cannot allow what's happened here to be lost to the silence of the years to come.

"We must remember it, we must honour it, we must live it."

Biden tells the audience in northern France that every generation must preserve democracy, calling it "the test of the ages".

He ends by saying modern nations must be "worthy of their sacrifice" in order to honour those who fought and died.

Image source, Reuters

Joe Biden says the struggle of Ukrainians in the face of Russian aggression captures the spirit of D-Day.

He describes the conflict as being part of an unending struggle between dictatorship and freedom.

The president goes on: "Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant, they're fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses but never backing down."

Biden goes on to link Ukraine's fight against tyranny to the struggle for freedom on D-Day beaches.

He pledges that Nato and the wider pro-Ukraine international coalition will stand strong with Ukraine and "will not walk away".

He calls Nato "the greatest military alliance in the world" and says it is "more determined than ever to keep peace".

"Isolation was not the answer 80 years ago and it's not the answer today," Biden adds.

Image source, Reuters

Biden pays tribute to every soldier, sailor and aviator, including people of colour and women who served "despite unjust limitations on what they could do for their nation".

He says walking the rows of graves in the cemeteries, nearly 10,000 heroes are buried side by side. They are of different races, faiths, backgrounds, but all "served with honour when America and the world needed them most".

He adds that they knew the probability of dying was real, "but they did it anyway".

They knew there were things worth dying for "then, now and always".

Biden begins naming some of the "noble band of brothers" who stormed the beaches of Normandy and survived, and went on to fight elsewhere.

He names Kenneth Blaine Smith as one, who was on the first US ship to arrive at French region's coast operating radar and providing gunfire support.

Bob Gibson landed on Utah beach 10 hours after the invasion began when there were "bullets firing everywhere" and provided critical protection for the infantry, Biden continues.

He also names medic Ben Miller, who "did his duty" saving lives by dragging people to safety after his own glider crashed.

Image source, AFP

Biden goes on to say the D-Day veterans "met the test of the ages 80 years ago today".

He says: "On behalf of the the American people, it's the highest honour to salute you in Normandy once more. God love you."

Biden quotes Winston Churchill, saying: "He called what happened here 'the greatest most complicated operation ever' - after years of planning, Operation Overlord was ready to launch just as the weather turned."

"Men, guns, planes, naval craft waited. Finally, President Dwight D Eisenhower's forecasts said there was a window in the weather that opened on 6 June and he gave the order that at dawn, the allies would strike".

He adds that men from all over America took part, and estimates suggest 80% of them would be killed within hours.

"They were brave; the courage and resolve of their allies ensured it was taken care of".

Image source, AFP

Following an address from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Joe Biden takes to the lectern.

He speaks of the climate in the lead up to D-Day, and remembers the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the millions of others killed in "bloody warfare".

Hitler thought democracies were weak and the future belonged to dictators, Biden says.

"Here on the coast of Normandy, the battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined," he says.

Image source, Reuters

President Macron has just addressed the American ceremony in Normandy.

He spoke about the risk the D-Day soldiers took for freedom, and then went on to address each of the veterans in attendance today by name.

"Here you came, to join your thoughts with our soldiers and to make France a free nation. And you are back here today, at home," he says.

The French president went on to speak about their service to freedom before presenting France's Légion d'honneur to veterans, which is France's highest distinction.

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden were greeted by a military fly-past as they arrived for the D-Day memorial ceremony at Omaha Beach.

They are now handing out Légion d’honneur, France’s highest medal of honour, to surviving veterans ahead of Biden's speech.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Wroc-TV

We earlier brought you news of US Navy veteran Robert "Al" Persichitti, from Rochester, New York, who died en route to this week's commemorations.

He was airlifted to a hospital in Germany on 30 May after suffering a medical emergency on a ship heading to Europe, and died the next day aged 102.

Al DeCarlo, who served alongside Mr Persichitti in Japan, was also on the trip. He told local media in Rochester that his friend did not die alone.

"The doctor was with him... he was at peace and he was comfortable," he said, according to ABC news agency affiliate, WHAM-TV.

"She put his favourite singer, Frank Sinatra, on her phone and he peacefully left us."

Image source, British Army

A 99-year-old Normandy veteran first learned he was taking part in the invasion as he was making his way across the Channel to join forces taking part in D-Day operations.

Signalman John Mitchell, from East Ayrshire, landed in France on his 19th birthday.

He said: "Before I knew it, I was sitting on the cobbled slipway at Gosport on a tank landing ship, which had space for about 20 tanks and some smaller trucks, one of which I was in.

"These vessels had a speed of 13 knots and bobbed about like corks when at sea because of the shallow draught.

"When we were at sea, news came through about the landings and we knew for certain that this was not another exercise. It was the real thing.

"We landed on the night of D-Day plus one, on Juno Beach near Courselles.

"There have been many articles written about what we were to see on the beach with the noise of battle and all the bodies."

Mitchell left the army in 1947 and returned to work in the lace trade in Scotland.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is joining world leaders in Normandy today to commemorate the sacrifice people made 80 years ago during the D-Day landings.

In a post on X, external, he says this anniversary serves as as a reminder of the "courage and determination demonstrated in the pursuit of freedom and democracy".

He goes on: "Allies defended Europe's freedom then, and Ukrainians do so now. Unity prevailed then, and true unity can prevail today."

Russia was part of the allied effort during the D-Day landings in 1944, but President Vladimir Putin has not been invited to today's events in Normandy because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Angie Brown
Edinburgh and East reporter

Image source, British Army

A 100-year-old veteran said D-Day should "never, ever be forgotten," at an event at the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle.

Lance Corporal Cyril "Lou" Bird, from Edinburgh, was just 20 years old when his 5th Royal Tank Regiment landed on Gold Beach at about midday.

The former tank driver described how "peculiar" it was that the fear he felt before going into action disappeared once the battle started.

He told the BBC: "It's just very difficult to describe being faced with death, so closely faced with death. And I didn't get a scratch."

Lance Corporal Bird, who became a carpet salesman in Scotland after the war, added that waiting to go into action was the hardest part.

He said: "It was when we weren't in action, just sat waiting for it to happen, that I was scared to death.

"I was so scared, I was soaking wet with perspiration. Before I wasn't scared at all, and afterwards I wasn't. I still remember it so clearly."

He said that a lot of the men around him felt seasick during the crossing to France, but that this actually helped them deal with the fear of what could be facing them on Gold Beach.

"I think how it's a good thing. Because they were so sick they wanted to get off, otherwise they would have been so sick of going ashore."

Speaking about the peace the landings helped bring to western Europe, he said: "I hope that persists, and if we did that, if it really is persistent, we did a wonderful job, the war was worthwhile."

US President Joe Biden is about to address the ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery.

You can press Play on the stream above to follow along, and as always, we will bring you the key lines here.

Image source, Reuters

We're expecting to hear from Joe Biden shortly when he addresses a memorial event in Normandy.

Earlier, the US president and First Lady Jill Biden met World War Two veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters