WATCH: D-Day 80 drone lightshow illuminates Portsmouth sky with spitfire and gorgeous colours

Residents gathered on Southsea Common on the stage and across the grass to see the spectacular drone light show. The unmanned aircraft formed several shapes in honour of those who participated in the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944.

The phrase “I can remember” lit up to the astonishment to the crowds which formed. Shapes of a soldier, letters, a paper airplane, a Spitfire, a parachute drop, waves, a landing craft and a destroyer all appeared in different colours, ending with an image of a bird flying towards France.

Commemorations took part all day in Portsmouth and France, as the city took centre stage for memorial proceedings. King Charles III gave an emotional speech which urged people to take an active role in remembering those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to fight for democracy and learning the lessons which they learnt.

You can watch the drone lightshow by watching the Dailymotion footage at the top of this article. A round up of the days events can be found on the live blog here.