Europe Holds Low-Key VE Day Commemorations Due to Virus

LONDON (AP) — Europe is marking the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces following six years of war in a low-key fashion as a result of the coronavirus lockdowns.

Instead of the big celebrations that had been planned, people across Europe have been asked to mark Friday's anniversary in private.

Queen Elizabeth II will lead the tributes in the U.K. to mark the anniversary with a broadcast to the nation Friday night.

French President Emmanuel Macron has visited the statue of General Charles de Gaulle in Paris and attended a commemoration ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other high-ranking officials also laid a wreath in Berlin.