Britain announces cultural programme to commemorate WWI

Britain has announced a major cultural and artistic programme that will take place nationwide to mark the centenary of WWI.

The programme, named "14-18 NOW", will work with other organisations across the country to commission large scale cultural projects for WWI memorials, Xinhua quoted the British Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as saying Friday.

The programme will begin with events marking the anniversary of the declaration of WWI August 4, with a national candlelit vigil to be held on the day to inspire communities to reflect on the years of war.

A national service commemoration will also be organised on the day at Glasgow Cathedral, focusing on the Commonwealth contribution to the war, the DCMS said.

"This newly commissioned work over the next four years will complement what has gone before and help all of us, old and especially young, to pause for a moment in remembrance of those four years a century ago," said British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Maria Miller.

The programme is also inviting the British public to voice their reflections on WWI in the form of letters addressed to the statue of an unknown letter-reading soldier standing at the Paddington station in London.