Where to go Friday 6 June

One of the departure points for Operation Overlord, Portsmouth in Hampshire is the scene for many commemorative events. Go to www.ddaymuseum.co.uk for information on all the below.

•D-Day Museum , Southsea Seafront, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, PO5 3NT, 9am-7pm.

Free entry to the D-Day Museum to mark the anniversary of D-Day.

•D-Day Remembrance Service , Southsea Seafront, 10.50am, Admission: free.

A Remembrance Service will be held at the D-Day Stone in Southsea, Hants, to commemorate those killed during the D-Day landings, followed by a parade.

•Normandy Commemorations , Southsea Common, Afternoon, Admission: free.

Bring a picnic and watch the live coverage of the Commemorations from Normandy which will be shown on big screens across the site.

•D-Day Films, Southsea Common, 7pm, Admission: free.

Bring a picnic and watch the short films featuring D-Day Veterans. Following this will be a free screening of The Longest Day on big screens across the site.

•Armed Forces Reserve Parade, Southsea Common, 11am, Admission: free.

A parade of Armed Forces Reservists along Southsea Seafront, led by HMS King Alfred.

•1940s Concert, Southsea Common, 7pm, Admission: free.

A lively family oriented concert featuring the hit music of the 1940s with live singers and a Big Band building up to a fireworks finale. Mark the occasion in style by coming along in 1940s clothes and don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Commemorative screening of Saving Private Ryan, RAF Museum London (www.rafmuseum.org.uk) Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL, 6.30pm. Tickets: £8.50.

Sit beneath the Avro Lancaster and Spitfire 5B on beanbags and watch Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in this D-Day classic.

The National Memorial Arboretum, UK’s Centre of Remembrance, Staffordshire (www.thenma.org.uk for details) Admission: free.

A day of commemorations including a Service of Remembrance at the Arboretum’s Millennium Chapel, a wreath-laying at the Normandy Veteran’s Memorial by a veteran of the landings, and a special performance by the Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir.           

Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June

•Viewings of original material from the D-Day archives, RAF Museum Boardroom, London (details above), 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm. Admission: free but need to book.

  A chance to see original archive material and discover more about the RAF’s contribution to D-Day, from pilots to parachute packers with memoirs, photographs and official planning documents on show over the weekend.

•D-Day Dispatches: Historic Hangars, RAF Museum, 11am and 1.30pm. Admission: free.

Storyteller Sonia Caller will share stories about the RAF involvement in missions on D-Day alongside the Army and Navy. Real-life stories of crew and aircraft who served during the Second World War, suitable for all ages.

•Pilots, Planes and Secret Missions, The RAF Museum Art Gallery, 12pm and 2.30pm, Admission: free. An activity session for all the family involving interactive games revealing what it was like to be air crew during D-Day.

•The Great Crusade: The Air War and D-Day, RAF Museum Lecture theatre. Admission: free (no need to book).

Talk by the RAF Museum’s aviation historian exploring the background, planning, experience and conduct of Allied air forces for D-Day commanded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.

The D-Day Experience, Southsea Common, 10am - 6pm.

A weekend of entertainment and activities for all the family featuring music from the 1940s, arena displays and parades, military vehicle exhibitors and displays, lindy hop dancers, 1940s vintage market, archive and war film screenings, talks by local veterans, homefront displays, photographic exhibitions, street theatre performances and much more. Full details of the events can be found at The D-Day Museum (details above) and at www.visitportsmouth.co.uk or by calling 02392 834698

D-Day – The Last of the Liberators photography exhibition, Imperial War Museum, Duxford branch (www.iwm.org.uk) Until December. Tickets included in the general admission cost of £17.50

A collection of photographic portraits featuring some of the last surviving Normandy veterans and their stories

How to Listen Friday 6 June

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, 6.30am, Radio 2

The show will broadcast live from Arromanches, Normandy. Chris will be talking to Dame Vera Lynn and Second World War historian Antony Beevor, as well as D-Day veterans.

The Jeremy Vine Show, noon, Radio 2

The show broadcasts live from HMS Belfast, the warship that played a crucial role in D-Day spending five weeks supporting the Normandy landings and reportedly fired one of the first shots on the day itself. The show will tell the story of D-Day through the eyes of those who served on the ship and the troops she helped. Veterans will tell of the realities of daily life for ordinary sailors and a shot will be fired from the ship.

D-Day 70 Years On, 8pm, Radio 2 and at cinemas across the UK (www.ddayconcert.com for information)

A special Friday Night Is Music Night from London’s Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra and hosts Jeremy Vine, Dermot O’Leary and Louise Minchin retelling the story of key moments of D-Day, with a line-up including Patrick Stewart as Sir Winston Churchill and virtual duet between Katherine Jenkins OBE and Dame Vera Lynn singing We’ll Meet Again.

Radio 4 Extra: Online

BBC Radio 4 Extra is commemorating the 70th anniversary with a special broadcast of the landmark day of programmes including dramas, documentaries and discussions available through their website. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio4extra for more information.

What to Watch Friday 6 June

D-Day 70: The Heroes Return, BBC One, 9.15am, 1.30pm and 8pm

Huw Edwards presents a three-part live broadcast to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day from Arromanches, Normandy. Senior members of the royal family and foreign dignitaries join thousands of veterans at the Bayeaux War Cemetery for a service alongside the 4,000 gravestones of British troops.

Normandy ‘44: The Battle Beyond D-Day, BBC Two, 9.30pm

Historian James Holland looks at the 77-day campaign for control of Normandy that followed the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944, challenging some of the myths that have grown up around this vital offensive.