6 June 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, which noticed tens of hundreds of troopers embark from Portsmouth to cross the Channel, establishing a foothold throughout the French coast so as to start the advance to liberate northwest Europe.
As daybreak broke on the morning of 6 June 1944 hundreds of Allied Warships made their method in direction of the coast of Northern France. D-Day had lastly arrived. Operation Overlord, the biggest amphibious invasion within the historical past of warfare was underway, heralding probably the most decisive campaigns of World War 2. More than 150,000 troops would land on 5 seashores in Normandy.
The BBC is marking this momentous endeavor with a variety of reside and historic programming throughout TV, BBC iPlayer, Radio and BBC Sounds.
D-Day 80th Anniversary on TV and BBC iPlayer
D-Day 80: The Allies Prepare
The D-Day 80 nationwide commemorative occasion will broadcast reside on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 10.15am. Presented by Anita Rani with reporter JJ Chalmers, and with accessible commentary for the blind and partially sighted offered by Petroc Trelawny, the occasion will happen on the seafront in Portsmouth the place, 80 years in the past, the Allies departed for the seashores of Normandy.
The occasion, hosted by Academy Award-winning Dame Helen Mirren, will have a good time the unbelievable joint work of the UK, Commonwealth and Allied troops in making ready for the biggest naval, air and land operation in historical past. This vastly bold endeavour turned the tide of World War Two.
Who are the performers?
Actor Phil Dunster will learn the testimony of Major Rodney Maude. This is the letter Rodney wrote to his mom earlier than he set sail for D-Day because the Major answerable for 246 Field Company, Royal Engineers; actor Leonie Elliott will learn the phrases of Pippa Latour, a SOE agent working undercover in France; actor and author Anjli Mohindra will learn the testimony of Kitty Morgan, a younger manufacturing unit employee who contributed to the warfare effort; actor and singer Julian Ovenden will deliver to life the directions given to American servicemen in A Short Guide to Great Britain; actor Kate Phillips will share the testimony of Maureen Bolster, a Wren stoker stationed in Britain; spoken phrase poet Tomos Roberts will learn a poem particularly written titled The People Who Gave Us Today; and actor, author and comic Jonny Weldon will learn the heartbreaking letter house from Captain Jack Lee that he wrote simply three days earlier than he was killed on the seventh of June, 1944.
Musical performances embody singer-songwriter Zak Abel who will sing a canopy of God Only Knows, a music by American rock band The Beach Boys; actor Emma Barton who will carry out a canopy of Sing As We Go, first launched by Gracie Fields in 1934; rising star JERUB who will probably be performing his music There Till the End, whose lyrics converse to the shared camaraderie and brotherhood of service personnel; and American actor and singer Marisha Wallace who will carry out a canopy of Sing, Sing, Sing, a preferred music of the period.
D-Day 80: Tribute to The Fallen
On the night of 5 June, the eve of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a tribute to the fallen takes place within the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery in Normandy and Southsea Common in Portsmouth that includes beautiful lighting shows, readings and music to mark this important second in historical past.
As darkness falls, every of the 4,600 headstones of people who fell will probably be individually illuminated throughout Bayeux War Cemetery, making a poignant fashionable act of commemoration.
Kirsty Young anchors the reside broadcast from Bayeux Cemetery, joined by particular friends, guiding viewers via this exceptional story of our nation. Petroc Trelawny gives accessible commentary for the blind and partially sighted.
Who are the performers?
Scottish people singer Julie Fowlis will carry out The Parting Glass in Portsmouth; singer and songwriter Jack Savoretti will carry out his personal music Soldier’s Eyes; and British baritone and composer Roderick Williams, accompanied by London Voices, will sing a rendition of Lacrymosa: Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep.
Actor Katherine Parkinson will learn a transferring and poignant letter a few man buried in Bayeux.
D-Day 80: We Will Remember Them
On 6 June, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the nation will come collectively to pay tribute to all who served within the Normandy Campaign.
Set overlooking Gold Beach on the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, the occasion, organised by the Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence, would be the first-ever National Commemoration at this location, holding particular significance for the D-Day veterans who’re in attendance.
Within the occasion, contributions will probably be grounded in dwelling testimony, gathered via particular conversations curated completely for this anniversary permitting us to hear the final remaining tales first-hand earlier than we enter a submit-witness period.
The occasion will conclude with a conventional act of remembrance, accompanied by a particular tribute from the Red Arrows and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, flying over Normandy to salute this exceptional era and our nation’s heroes.
Paddy O’Connell, whose father proudly served throughout D-Day, will present commentary, whereas Sophie Raworth studies reside from the British Normandy Memorial, joined by particular friends. Petroc Trelawny gives accessible commentary for the blind and partially sighted.
Who are the performers?
Singer and songwriter Johnny Flynn will carry out his personal music titled Song With No Name, accompanied by the Combined Bands of the Royal Air Force; Sir Tom Jones will take the stage to carry out his music I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall; and a specifically commissioned anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber – Lovingly Remembered – with lyrics by Don Black, will probably be carried out by singer and songwriter Naomi Kimpenu with the London Youth Chamber Choir.
Actor Douglas Booth will learn the phrases of a Royal Navy veteran who displays on the Battle of Normandy; French actor Antonia Desplat will learn the phrases of a volunteer nurse in Bayeux in the course of the Normandy marketing campaign which can spotlight the French civilian effort within the Battle of Normandy; and actor Martin Freeman will learn the phrases of a veteran who’s returning to Gold Beach for the primary time in 80 years.
D-Day: The Unheard Tapes
Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the invasion, D-Day: The Unheard Tapes relives probably the most extraordinary days within the historical past of contemporary warfare utilizing highly effective eyewitness accounts recorded with those that skilled it first-hand. The sequence incorporates a trove of uncommon audio recordings sourced from archives around the globe, bringing collectively British, American, German and French views for the primary time. Many of them have by no means been heard publicly earlier than.
Young actors, forged to resemble the interviewees on the time of the warfare, lip-sync the unique testimony in documentary settings, to recall moments of bravery, concern, chaos and confusion, and these reminiscences are interwoven with immersive, fragmented documentary-model dramatic recreation.
Together, they inform the story of the fateful Normandy invasion and the bloody battle that adopted, wherein over 100,000 folks misplaced their lives.
This is the story of D-Day, instructed by those that had been there, as they lived via it.
The One Show
The One Show will probably be marking the 80th Anniversary of D-Day with an prolonged particular on fifth June throughout which we’ll meet one of many few remaining D-Day veterans as he’s reunited with an unique Dakota that’s been painstakingly restored.
We’ll be bringing collectively a number of the final surviving ladies of the Royal Navy (WRNS) who performed key roles within the operation to share their inspirational tales. Plus alongside some particular friends, we’ll be showcasing how individuals are coming collectively throughout the UK and in France to mark the event and there’ll be a poignant efficiency from The D-Day Darlings as we meet the youthful era of singers they’ve impressed.
Also that week, with the assistance of Katherine Jenkins, we give a really emotional One Big Thank You to a devoted volunteer who offers up her time to assist veterans.
Antiques Roadshow: D-Day
For this particular version of the Antiques Roadshow, Fiona Bruce is in Normandy in France to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 1944.
Filmed in Normandy and on the D-Day Story Museum in Portsmouth, the episode options exceptional first-hand testimony from those that had been there, together with veteran Ken Cooke. Across 5 seashores, codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, ‘Operation Overlord’ was the biggest seaborne invasion in historical past – an occasion that will flip the tide of World War II, and lead finally to the defeat of Germany and victory for the Allies slightly below a yr later, in May 1945. With our Roadshow consultants at areas throughout the UK, we unfold the story of D-Day via numerous objects introduced in by our guests, and uncommon artefacts held in numerous museums.
Countryfile
Anita Rani and Charlotte Smith uncover how Dorset performed an vital position in within the construct-up to D-Day.
They go to Studland Beach, the place in April 1944 there was a full-scale gown rehearsal for D-Day and Tyneham village, which was requisitioned by the War Office in 1943 and used to prepare troops. And Adam finds out how the UK’s farmers helped the nation put together for D-Day.
Bargain Hunt: All About D-Day
Bargain Hunt remembers the 80th anniversary of D-Day with an episode that includes two groups of Armed Forces veterans, filmed on the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire.
Joining consultants Stephanie Connell and John Cameron are former Wren (Women’s Royal Naval Service) Carolyn, former Women’s Royal Air Force veteran Irene, and former RAF servicemen Dan and Mike. Presenter Danny Sebastian meets photographer Seimon Pugh-Jones, who talks about his work offering artifacts for the units of blockbuster movies and TV sequence, similar to Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Seimon additionally reveals Danny a cell museum that he has created, devoted to telling the story of the Normandy landings of 1944.
Songs of Praise 80th Anniversary of D-Day
To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Aled Jones is in Portsmouth to meet 99-year-previous veteran Stan Ford and to replicate on why it’s extra vital than ever to keep in mind the fallen.
BBC Newsround
For kids aged seven and older, D-Day – A Newsround Special will discover the pivotal position that the Normandy landings had in securing our freedom. Two kids, William and Lyra, discover their household connection to D-Day, and journey to Normandy with two veterans, Mervyn and Arthur, to deliver to life the position that the wartime era performed in liberating Europe.
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast will current particular programmes from Portsmouth and the British Normandy Memorial throughout 5 and 6 June.
John Maguire will journey to Northern France with a number of the courageous males who had been there in 1944 together with Ralph McClure, grandfather of ‘Line of Duty’ actor Vicky McClure. We’ll additionally converse to one of many oldest surviving D Day veterans Percival Chafer who’s 104-years-previous.
Saving Lives at Sea in World War II
In this particular episode commemorating the 2024 bicentenary of the RNLI, Dermot O’Leary uncovers the untold story of the establishment’s heroic efforts within the Second World War. In all of its 200 years, the RNLI had by no means confronted such an immense problem, as its lifeboat crews had been referred to as to serve in essentially the most perilous of circumstances, finally saving hundreds of lives.
Having spent a lot of his childhood on the east coast of England, Dermot is a proud ambassador of the RNLI. But even he knew valuable little about this hidden historical past of the establishment. He delves deep into a number of the warfare’s most iconic and stunning tales from throughout Britain, uncovering the extraordinary position the RNLI performed within the warfare effort.
BBC News We Were There
Eighty years on, the BBC has been gathering first-hand accounts from the surviving UK D-Day veterans – some greater than 100 years of age. In D-Day 80: We Were There, Rachel Burden traces their tales in Normandy and hears reminiscences of the huge seashore invasion and the battles that adopted.
BBC News
BBC News is offering a variety of historic and contextual protection within the lead to the day together with D-Day: We Were There – an iPlayer documentary interviewing veterans on their first-hand expertise, in addition to studies throughout radio, TV and on-line.
On the day there will probably be particular rolling reside protection of D-Day from France, the UK and around the globe on the BBC News Channel, and packages on TV and radio bulletins.
D-Day 80th Anniversary on Radio and BBC Sounds
Vernon Kay – D-Day 80: Live from Normandy
On Thursday 6 June, Vernon Kay presents his mid-morning present reside from the Normandy coast.
He’ll hear from households of the troopers concerned within the largest seaborne invasion in historical past about what they skilled as they headed ashore, and converse to those that will give additional context to what grew to become the beginning of the liberation of France.
Jeremy Vine – D-Day 80: Live from Portsmouth
Jeremy Vine presents his present reside from Portsmouth, which was the headquarters and important departure level for army personnel heading for Sword Beach in France.
He’ll inform the story of how the world grew to become an enormous armed camp for troops and the native lockdown that closed the world to guests. He’ll hear in regards to the position this metropolis performed on this essential turning level in World War II and will probably be exploring the dockyards and discovering out what all of it meant to those that lived there.
Sunday Night is Music Night
The Portsmouth Guildhall live performance, D-Day 80: Commemorating the Normandy Landings, introduced by Vernon Kay, options the mixed musical forces of the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Big Band performing a number of the finest liked and most enduring music of that period.
The live performance options basic movie scores, together with Maurice Jarre’s The Longest Day, Gerard Schurmann’s Attack On The Iron Coast, John Addison’s A Bridge Too Far and John Williams’ Hymn To The Fallen from Saving Private Ryan. Musicians additionally performed an vital position throughout these instances, most notably Glenn Miller’s United States Army Air Force Band. They arrived in England in 1944 and over the following yr would make greater than 500 broadcasts and 300 reside performances attended by multiple million army personnel. Among their classics to be carried out are In The Mood, Tail End Charlie and Moonlight Serenade.
The live performance additionally options friends, together with the acclaimed soul voice of Vanessa Haynes who sings a number of the largest hits of 1944, together with Duke Ellington’s Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me and Nat ‘King’ Cole’s Straighten Up And Fly Right. Nine-piece vocal ensemble, The D-Day Darlings, revisit these Vera Lynn favourites, We’ll Meet Again and The White Cliffs Of Dover, and singer / pianist Kate Garner takes a nostalgic look again at Now Is The Hour and I’m Gonna Get Lit Up When The Lights Go Up In London.
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live will probably be commemorating 80 years since D-Day with particular reside protection and updates from occasions throughout the nation and in Normandy.
The Beaches
It was a high-secret little-recognized mission that modified the result of World War II. Not Alan Turing’s Enigma however a daring experiment beneath cowl of darkness on the shores of northern France.
In this dramatic and revealing documentary Harrison Lewis and Christian Dunne re-enact probably the most exceptional feats of the Second World War and uncover the intricate particulars of the forgotten science that underpinned D-Day.
D-Day: The Last Voices
D-Day: The Last Voices for Radio 4 brings collectively a wealthy assortment of historic audio testimonies recorded with those that fought within the invasion of Normandy, alongside extraordinary new interviews with the final surviving veterans, to inform their story of D-Day because it unfolded.
Presented by Paddy O’Connell, every programme charts a definite chapter of the advanced, visceral and transferring story of the invasion, from subterfuge and secret planning, to the strategy of H-Hour, the landings by air and sea, and on into the battles past the seashores.
Commissioned as a collaboration with D-Day: The Unheard Tapes for BBC Two, and drawing on the identical longitudinal entry and analysis, the sequence tells the story of D-Day via the final voices of those that lived it, main us via their private experiences of the invasion. Supported by the historic recordings of those that had been there with them – that is their story, instructed in their very own phrases.
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC News NI will probably be bringing audiences to the center of the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations in Normandy, broadcasting from Sword Beach, Pegasus Bridge and following the Royal Irish Regiment. Its predecessor, the Royal Ulster Rifles regiment, was distinctive in having its total fashioned energy land in France on 6 June 1944.
Our protection over the times main up to the 6 June anniversary will embody interviews with folks there on D-Day, studies about Northern Ireland’s position in making ready Allied troops for the invasion and the sentiments of these each in Northern Ireland and in France on the importance of the event 80 years later.
On D-Day itself we are going to deliver you color and commentary on the ceremonies paying tribute to the fallen, together with a dawn tribute on Sword Beach and a service of remembrance in Ranville War Cemetery.
You will see the most recent information and color options in addition to archive footage: Declan Harvey will probably be fronting the presentation for BBC Newsline and Chris Buckler for Radio Ulster, with additional protection from reporters together with Lyndsey Telford and Chris Andrews.