Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The final year of the Government's four year programme to commemorate the centenary of the First World War will see a series of events to commemorate the end of the War, and the path to peace.

On Monday 26 March an event was held to commemorate the centenary of the appointment of Marshal Foch as Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front, at the statue of the Marshal in Lower Grosvenor Gardens. It was attended by the French Ambassador, and the French Minister of State for Veterans and Remembrance.

On 8 August we will commemorate the centenary of the the Battle of Amiens and the subsequent 'Hundred Days' Offensive with an event in Amiens Cathedral in Northern France. It is being delivered in partnership with the governments of Australia, Canada, France and the United States of America. The public ballot for tickets to attend the event opened on 9 March, and will close on 9 April. Members of the public who wish to attend can apply via the web-page or in writing to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The government’s programme of centenary events will culminate on 11 November 2018 with a series of events across the UK to mark the centenary of the Armistice. The National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph will follow traditional lines, to respect its wider purpose in remembering the fallen of all conflicts. The traditional veterans’ parade will then be followed by a civilian procession made up of 10,000 members of the public who wish to show their thanks to a generation who gave so much for the freedoms we enjoy today. An announcement regarding the public ballot for tickets to participate in this procession will be made in May. During the day, church and other bells will ring out as they did in 1918 to mark the end of the war. The government is supporting the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers to recruit 1,400 bell ringers (the number that were lost during the war) to create a national peal that will echo the impromptu outpouring of relief and joy that took place 100 years ago.

The commemorations will conclude in the evening with a national service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London. Similar services will also take place in Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.

In addition to the national events, the other elements of government programme, such as the Schools' Battlefields Tours, the schools 'Great War Debates', the Victoria Cross Paving Stones, and funding for the repair and restoration of War Memorials will continue to ensure that the final year of the War and the Armistice are commemorated appropriately.