May Bank Holiday 2020 Moved To Coincide With VE Day 75th Anniversary
8 June 2019, 09:16 | Updated: 8 June 2019, 09:48
The early May Day bank holiday next year will be moved to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
Next year's May bank holiday is to be moved back to the end of the week in order to coincide with VE Day's 75th anniversary.
It means the early bank holiday will fall on Friday 8th instead of Monday 4th to form part of a three day weekend commemorating Allies accepting the surrender of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
The change will apply to England, Northern Ireland and Wales as bank holidays in Scotland are devolved to Holyrood.
Chief executive of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, Sir Andrew Gregory said moving the bank holiday was a "fitting" idea.
"It is our duty to keep the events of the past alive in collective memory, including future generations," he said.
"This is how we ensure that such a conflict never happens again.
"It is our hope that the nation takes a moment to reflect on the significance of this date, as a milestone that changed the course of history for the whole world."
The early May bank holiday has only been moved once before, to coincide with VE Day's 50th anniversary in 1995.
