Battle of Somme memorial ticket ballot announced

Mr Whittingdale made the announcement in front of the Guards' Memorial in London's Horse Guards Parade

Tickets to next year's commemorations of the Battle of the Somme centenary will be free and allocated by ballot, the culture secretary has announced.

Residents of the UK, France and Irish Republic will be able to apply online to attend, said John Whittingdale.

The Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of World War One with more than one million casualties over 141 days.

The ceremony will take place at France's Thiepval Memorial on 1 July 2016. The ballot opens on 28 September.

The ballot will be for pairs of tickets.

'Extensive loss'

A ceremony is held at the Thiepval Memorial every year, but the joint Anglo-French centenary event will be on a larger scale, with 10,000 people attending - 8,000 of whom will be selected by ballot.

The monument, erected in 1932, includes the graves of 600 British and French soldiers, along with the names of 72,000 more who died engraved on to the stone.

The battle began on 1 July 1916 and lasted until 13 November

"Nearly everyone in the UK will have an ancestor who fought or died at the Somme," said Mr Whittingdale.

"It is important that people across the UK have the chance to remember and honour these brave soldiers.

"The centenary event will be an opportunity to not only pay tribute to those that sacrificed so much but to ensure that their legacy continues for generations."

Mr Whittingdale also expressed gratitude to the the French for their collaboration "on what will be an incredibly important and deeply moving event".