And Sunderland was no exception as thousands of people turned out to welcome the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Today, on the anniversary of that momentous occasion we look back on VE Day and other photos from 1945 in Wearside.
We have scenes of evacuees after years of being separated from loved ones. And we have reminders of how life went on during the war.
But most of all, we have photos from the day it all came to an end, in Europe at least. Take a look.
We have scenes of evacuees after years of being separated from loved ones. And we have reminders of how life went on during the war.
2 / 3