Party in the park or have a ball on the beach for VE or VJ Day

This year is the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) and Victory over Japan (VJ).

Thursday 8 May 2025 marks 80 years since VE Day, when the Second World War came to an end in Europe. While 15 August is celebrated as VJ Day, when the war ended in the east as Japan surrendered.

On bank holiday Monday 5 May gather your friends, family and neighbours and host a Great British Food Festival.

To help celebrate and bring people together the Isle of Wight Council will waive the land hire costs for community groups (including town, parish and community councils) to hold parties in the park and on beaches across the Island. This will help make organising an event as easy and stress-free as possible.

Residents can download this handy toolkit to help get the party started 

Natasha Dix, Service Director Waste, Environment and Planning said ‘‘Parties like this are a great opportunity for communities to come together. We want to make it as easy as possible for organised groups to hold a party to celebrate this momentous occasion.’’

‘‘For anyone organised groups wishing to hold a party in a local park or at the beach on bank holiday Monday 5 May simply visit Amenity land hire and submit your request to the council one month before the date of your event. If you are just gathering a few friends and family members, have fun and stay safe. We would like to remind everyone to please leave their environment as they found out and place any litter in bins or take it home to dispose of correctly.’’

Celebrate freedom in the great outdoors and enjoy some Great British Food. Whether you plan a picnic party in your local park or sandwiches on the sand at the beach. Big or small gather your friends, family and neighbours.

While the Isle of Wight Council is waiving any land hire costs, licensing fees will still apply as these are a statuary requirement.

The council hopes that as many people take this opportunity to get the together but would like to remind residents if they do choose to hold a party in an outdoor space, they leave the venue as they found it.

Please take away any rubbish and dispose of it correctly.

These hints may help.

Disposable barbeques

Be safe and just don’t use them. The risk of fire caused by disposable barbeques is high. Pack a picnic instead.

Disposable barbeques can reach 400C and take around four hours to cool down, making them impossible to move, and posing danger to people and the environment.

Use of disposable barbeques is banned in several local parks and beaches managed by the council. 

Recyclable plates/cups and cutlery

Consider using recyclable cups, paper plates and wooden cutlery that can be reused or recycled easily instead of single use plastic.  

Bottles and cans

Wash and squash any plastic bottles or cans and put them in your recycling bin. Squashing plastic bottles and cans helps free up space making it easier to collect and recycle more.  

Cardboard

Collapse any cardboard boxes to fit more in your bin. Our recycling centres will also accept larger boxes of cardboard. You can also bundle excess cardboard to one side of your recycling bin or sack on your recycling week. 

Left-over food waste

Use your food caddie to dispose of any leftover food waste from your celebrations or visit Love Food Hate Waste for simple recipes to use up your leftovers.