VE Day is celebrated across European nations as public holidays and national observances.
Austria The Festival of Joy is an Austrian event held in honor of VE Day. The
Austrian Mauthausen Committee (MKÖ) has organised the Festival of Joy since 2013, in cooperation with the
Austrian government and the
City of Vienna. The festival is held annually on
Heldenplatz. On the eve of the 75th anniversary in 2020,
Russian president Vladimir Putin, at the request of Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz, gave a live address broadcast on Austrian TV channel
ORF.
France France celebrates VE Day on 8 May, known as
8 mai 1945, being a national and
public holiday. As of 3 September 2018, at least 523 street names "
Rue (du) 8-Mai-1945" are recorded in the 18 regions, as well as in the 36,700 French
communes (equivalent of civil parishes in England).
Orléans simultaneously celebrates both VE Day and the anniversary of the
Siege of Orléans being lifted on this date by French forces led by
Joan of Arc, patron saint of France, in 1429, during the
Hundred Years War.
Germany Events in
Berlin occur on 8 May to commemorate those who fought against Nazism in the
German Resistance and died in World War II. In 2020, a regional holiday in Berlin occurred on 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of surrender.
East Germany celebrated 8 May as its
Tag der Befreiung (Liberation Day), first celebrated under
Walter Ulbricht's government in 1950 and repeated annually until the
fall of communism. Between 1975 and 1990, it was
Tag des Sieges (Victory Day).
Poland The 8th May is known in
Poland as "Narodowy Dzień Zwycięstwa" (National Victory Day), and this has been the officially recognised date since a decision on 24 April 2015. From 1945 until 2014, Poland officially recognised 9 May, in line with Russia. On 8 May 1945, a meeting of the Council of Ministers was held, debating whether to establish the holiday on 8 May (proposed by
Marshal Michał Rola-Żymierski) or 10 May (proposed by the government). Finally, the "National Day of Victory and Freedom" was established on 9 May by decree. From 1946 to 1989, it was celebrated with Russian traditions, as Poland was a
socialist state at the time. The main celebrations were carried out at Plac Zwycięstwa (Victory Square) or
Plac Defilad (Parade Square) in
Warsaw (most notably in
1985). After 1990 and the
fall of the Soviet Union, no official ceremonies were organized; however, many cities and military units together with local governments organized their own festivities. The
Russian minority in Poland continues to celebrate 9 May traditions to this date. At the end of March 2015, due to the upcoming 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, the president of the Institute of National Remembrance Łukasz Kamiński sent a letter to the
Marshal of the Sejm requesting a change from 9 to 8 May. On 24 April, the
Sejm adopted the Act on National Victory Day to be celebrated on 8 May, at the same time abolishing the National Day of Victory and Freedom celebrated on 9 May.
United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, although a major national event, VE Day is not an annual
public holiday. In 1995 and 2020, the early May bank holiday was moved by the government from the preceding Monday to 8 May to commemorate the 50th and 75th anniversaries of VE Day, respectively.
United States Victory Day is not a
federal holiday in the United States. However, on 8 May 2025, President
Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating the day as "Victory Day for World War II".
Commemorative events • : In Belgium, the commemoration of the termination of
World War II since 1974 has been part of the
Armistice of 11 November 1918 (Dutch: Wapenstilstandsdag), an annual national holiday. Every year on this day, a truce-ceremony is held in the presence of the king at the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the
Congress Column in
Brussels. It was first intended to commemorate the victims of the
First World War and subsequently those of
World War II and all other wars worldwide. • : Since the
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the
Czech Republic has officially recognized 8 May as Victory Day (
Den vítězství) Liberation Day (
Den osvobození). In recent years the liberation of
Plzeň by American forces has been commemorated on 5 May. From 1948 to 1993, the
Czechoslovak Republic celebrated 9 May, which was marked with a military parade of the
Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA) on
Letná every five years. • : 9 May is
Europe Day which celebrates "peace and unity in Europe", on the anniversary of the 1950
Schuman Declaration. •
Baltic states:
Estonia,
Latvia and
Lithuania officially commemorate 8 May, but do not commemorate 9 May since it marked the
Soviet occupation in 1944 for these states. Despite this, the local
Russian communities still informally celebrate 9 May. Russian diplomats, other representatives from the
Commonwealth of Independent States, and local politicians of Russian origin usually take part. ==List of associated holidays==