Lighting the Beacon competition

The competition is now closed.

A competition is being held to find a local resident to light the beacon in Queen’s Park in Loughborough, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Charnwood Borough Council is searching for a resident with either a military background or personal connection to VE Day to join the Mayor of Charnwood Cllr Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE in lighting the beacon at an event on Thursday, 8 May 2025 – exactly 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe on 8 May 1945.

This will be one of many beacon lighting events to take place across the country to mark the anniversary and pay respects to those that served and lost their lives in the Second World War.

The deadline to apply to light the beacon is Friday, 28 March 2025.

The winner will be contacted the week commencing Monday, 31 March 2025.

The council is asking to hear from applicants why they would want to be considered for this very special task, and what it would mean from them to be chosen to light the beacon.

Terms and conditions

Here are the terms and conditions for the beacon lighting competition:

By entering in the competition, it is deemed that the entrant has accepted the terms and conditions detailed below.

The competition is open to residents in the borough who have a military connection or a link to VE Day.

• Entrants must live in the borough of Charnwood.
• Entrants must be available to light the beacon on Thursday, 8 May 2025.
• The chosen winner will be contacted by either email or phone.
• Entries must be submitted via this online entry form.
• By entering this competition, entrants confirm that they give permission for their photograph to be taken and used across the Council's website, social media channels and in the local media.
• Entrants also agree to feature in future press releases in relation to the competition and the beacon lighting.
• The opportunity is awarded conditionally upon acceptance and if a winner is unable to be contacted after seven days or if it is unclaimed or declined within a reasonable period, the opportunity shall be deemed as unclaimed or unaccepted and a supplementary winner may be chosen at the council's discretion.
• Incomplete entries and entries received after the competition closing date will be disqualified from the competition.
• Entrants' data will be collected, stored and processed for the purposes of administering and assessing competitions. The council shall take all reasonable care to ensure that it complies with its obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018.
• The Council reserves the right to suspend, cancel, postpone or amend the competition and/or review and revise these terms and conditions.
• The Council's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.