D-Day 80: How to get tickets to Radio 2's Sunday Night is Music Night concert hosted by Vernon Kay from Portsmouth Guildhall

On D-Day itself, Vernon will be broadcasting his Radio 2 show from Normandy, with Jeremy Vine broadcasting his show from Portsmouth.

Commissioning executive Laura Busson said: “As D-Day was such an important moment in our history, it’s fitting that Radio 2 commemorates its 80th anniversary, giving listeners an opportunity to remember and pay tribute in their own way. Vernon and Jeremy’s shows will both broadcast from pivotal D-Day locations, and Vernon will present what I’m sure will be an incredibly moving concert from Portsmouth Guildhall.”

On Thursday June 6, Vernon Kay – who hosts the UK’s most popular radio programme – will be presenting his mid-morning show (9.30am-12pm) live from the Normandy coast.

He’ll hear from families of the soldiers involved in the largest seaborne invasion in history about what they experienced as they headed ashore, and speak to those who will give further context to what became the start of the liberation of France.

Vernon said: “It’s important we never forget and always honour the bravery and sacrifices made by those brave soldiers 80 years ago on D-Day, so I’m incredibly proud to be broadcasting my show from Normandy and presenting this commemorative concert on Radio 2.”

On the same day, Jeremy Vine presents his show (midday-2pm) live from Portsmouth, which was the headquarters and main departure point for military personnel heading for Sword Beach in France.

He’ll tell the story of how the area became a huge armed camp for troops and the local lockdown that closed the area to visitors. He’ll hear about the role this city played in this crucial turning point in the Second World War and will be exploring the dockyards and finding out what it all meant to those who lived there.

Jeremy said: “I was born 21 years after D-Day, but somehow the impact and scale of that epic moment in British history just grows the more time elapses. I think it's because, as you realise the value of your own life, you understand what others gave to save the country you live in.

"D-Day is the most remarkable story of our time. Having the Radio 2 listeners with us as we commemorate the anniversary will make for a unique broadcast, and I’m looking forward to hearing their stories and memories.”

The Portsmouth Guildhall concert, D-Day 80: Commemorating the Normandy Landings, presented by Vernon, features the combined musical forces of the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Big Band performing some of the best loved and most enduring music of that era.

The concert features classic film scores, including Maurice Jarre’s The Longest Day, Gerard Schurmann’s Attack On The Iron Coast, John Addison’s A Bridge Too Far and John Williams’ Hymn To The Fallen from Saving Private Ryan. Musicians also played an important role during those times, most notably Glenn Miller’s United States Army Air Force Band.

They arrived in England in 1944 and over the next year would make more than 500 broadcasts and 300 live performances attended by more than one million military personnel. Among their classics to be performed are In The Mood, Tail End Charlie and Moonlight Serenade.

The concert also features guests, including the acclaimed soul voice of Vanessa Haynes who sings some of the biggest hits of 1944, including Duke Ellington’s Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me and Nat ‘King’ Cole’s Straighten Up And Fly Right.

Nine-piece vocal ensemble, The D-Day Darlings, revisit those Vera Lynn favourites, We’ll Meet Again and The White Cliffs Of Dover, and singer / pianist Kate Garner takes a nostalgic look back at Now Is The Hour and I’m Gonna Get Lit Up When The Lights Go Up In London.

This special edition of Sunday Night is Music Night concert will be broadcast on Radio 2 on Sunday 9th June at 8pm, and is available on BBC Sounds from Thursday 6th June.

​Tickets for BBC Radio 2’s Sunday Night is Music Night can be bought via bbc.co.uk/radio2events.

It takes place at Portsmouth Guildhall on Monday, June 3, from 7pm. Tickets cost £24.55- £39.65