Floodlights illuminate the clock tower at Britain's Houses of Parliament at 12:01 a.m. on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. The lights, which would have been a beacon to enemy planes, were kept dark for the duration of World War II. They were turned back on for the first time just as the tower bell, Big Ben, finished chiming midnight. Seeing the symbol of their city lit by night made Londoners believe that the war was over at last.
