World War One centenary events to last four years

Details of how the centenary of the Great War will be marked have been announced, including candlelit vigils, commemoration services and trips for school children.

The celebrations are expected to run for four years marking the duration of the conflict.

The opening day of the centenary on 4th August 2014 will focus on:

• a wreath laying service at Glasgow’s Cenotaph, following the special service for Commonwealth leaders at Glasgow Cathedral
• an event at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium - which has an equal number of British and German soldiers

• a candlelit vigil of prayer at Westminster Abbey finishing at 11pm – the moment war was declared
• the reopening of Imperial War Museum London (IWM) following the £35m refurbishment of the First World War galleries. The IWM London was founded in 1917 to record the then still-continuing conflict.

Other activities in the four-year programme include:

• national acts of remembrance to mark the first day of the Battle of the Somme (2016) and Armistice Day (2018)
• two students and a teacher from each state school in England to visit the Western Front
• projects enabling young people to conserve and share local heritage of the war.