Katherine Jenkins: My pride at leading star-studded VE Day extravaganza at Royal Albert Hall next month

By RYAN HOOPER

Published: 01:32 BST, 26 April 2025 | Updated: 01:42 BST, 26 April 2025

Opera star Katherine Jenkins will lead the nation in song when she marks VE Day with a star-studded celebration at the Royal Albert Hall next month.

The Mail can reveal the Forces sweetheart will be among the household names taking to the famous London stage during the two-and-a-half hour extravaganza saluting war heroes with music, dance and first-hand stories of life in 1945.

The 80th anniversary event, which will be broadcast on Classic FM from 8pm, is presented by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, and sponsored by the Daily Mail.

Ms Jenkins is co-presenting alongside broadcasters Myleene Klass and Dan Walker, and will perform standards including We’ll Meet Again to the 5,000 people in attendance.

The mezzo-soprano, 44, who has performed for troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, told the Mail: ‘Commemorating VE Day 80 is not just about honouring history – it’s about remembering the extraordinary courage, sacrifice and unity that shaped the world we know today.

‘Our gratitude to the heroes of that generation must never fade.’ 

The presenters will be joined by a host of famous faces including astronaut Tim Peake, who will be discussing his own military experience.

Opera star Katherine Jenkins (pictured, file photo) will lead the nation in song when she marks VE Day with a star-studded celebration at the Royal Albert Hall next month

She told the Mail: ‘Commemorating VE Day 80 is not just about honouring history – it’s about remembering the extraordinary courage, sacrifice and unity that shaped the world we know today’. Pictured: The Red Arrows fly past over Horse Guards Parade during the VE Day Parade in 2015

The Mail can reveal the Forces sweetheart will be among the household names taking to the famous London stage (pictured, file photo) during the two-and-a-half hour extravaganza

Mr Peake said: ‘VE Day is a moment to pause and reflect on the courage and sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom. As someone who served in the Army Air Corps I feel a deep connection to the military community and great admiration for organisations like SSAFA who continue to provide vital services to veterans, service personnel and their families.’

The Royal Albert Hall’s arena will be transformed into a dance floor, sponsored by M&S, with a performance from Strictly star Nadiya Bychkova and her professional partner James Cutler. The RAF Squadronaires, part of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, will take the audience back in time with 1940s favourites, while the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will perform the nation’s best loved classical anthems, both joined by guest vocalists.

The D-Day Darlings group will treat the audience to a host of wartime numbers, including (There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs Of Dover.

SSAFA’s national chairman Sir Simon Bollom – who had a distinguished career in the RAF – said: ‘We’re all absolutely thrilled by the stars of stage, screen, and even space who are taking part in VE-Day 80: The Party at the Royal Albert Hall on May 8.

‘But while we rightly enjoy this evening, we must also think back to the sheer relief so many families felt with the announcement of the end of the war in Europe. It had been a long, hard six years of war, a war that still had three months to go in the Far East.’

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Katherine Jenkins: My pride at leading star-studded VE Day extravaganza at Royal Albert Hall next month

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