New bank holiday 'planned for next year' as Brits 'to get 4-day weekend to celebrate 80th anniversary of WW2'
26 November 2024, 08:12
Brits could be set to get a new bank holiday next year to give the country a four-day weekend to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
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The extra day off is likely to come either in May or in August, although no date has been set yet.
May 8 is the anniversary of VE Day, the end of the war in Europe after nearly six years, although the conflict continued in other parts of the world for several months.
August 15 is the date of the surrender of Japan after the US dropped two atomic bombs.
The government is thought to be discussing whether to create holidays on May 9 and May 12 next year, or whether to add an extra day to the August bank holiday.
The Second World War was the deadliest in human history, with an estimated 70-85 million deaths, or around 2% of the world's population.
Some 450,000 people from Britain and its colonies died, including soldiers and civilians.
Geoff Roberts, who served in the UK's Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, said: “I think it’s very important in these current times we remember those that gave their lives for our freedom and peace in Europe.
"We should never forget them. Maybe an extra bank holiday will help to remind people about what’s happened in the past.”
Marie Scott, 98, who worked in a top-secret communications bunker during D-Day in 1944, welcomed the bank holiday plan.
She said: “An additional bank holiday would be an opportunity to thank all those wonderful people who made such a spectacular victory possible because, without them, the future could have been very dire indeed.”
There are currently eight bank holidays scheduled for next year.
A government considering adding any new bank holidays has to balance out the public benefit with the reduction in economic output on that day.
