Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister David Cameron have joined thousands of people in commemorating the Allies' victory over Japan in World War II in Britain's 70th commemoration of VJ Day.
"I think it's really important to mark this date and to honour the memory of those that died, the thousands that died, serving our country, preserving our freedoms," Cameron told the BBC on Saturday ahead of the event.
"I think it's also particularly important perhaps, this anniversary, where so many of the participants are now such a great age," he said, adding that he planned to lay a wreath with "a 97-year-old hero from those times."
The queen met veterans and attended a service at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in central London, where vicar Sam Wells asked the congregation to "remember with gratitude those who gave their lives for the cause which we have believed to be right."
About 50 former prisoners of war attended the service.
The commemorations will feature military parades and bands, a fly-past by military aircraft later on Saturday, and more church services in London and several other cities.
London's Metropolitan Police said it would mount "a substantial security operation around the day's events," including several road closures, amid unconfirmed media reports of terrorist threats targeting the events.
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