Poppy Drop

The Poppy Drop returns to West Orchards Shopping Centre on Wednesday 11 November, from 10:45am. It's one of Coventry's annual Remembrance events, and this year it's on Level 3 of the centre, at West Orchard Way, CV1 1QX.

The timing is the whole point: the drop marks the 11th hour of the 11th of November, the moment the ceasefire was declared to end the First World War. Veterans and invited guests gather as 4,000 poppies fall from the shopping centre's dome, followed by a two-minute silence. It's a quiet, focused way of remembering those who lost their lives in the two World Wars and other conflicts, and it's free to attend.

It's part of the city's wider Remembrance programme, so if you're looking for more, there's the annual Remembrance Service and Parade at The Cenotaph in War Memorial Park, led by the Bishop of Coventry, and a civic party service at the Garden of Remembrance and Civilian Monument in London Road Cemetery. Councillor John McNicholas, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion, described Remembrance Sunday as a chance to pay tribute to those who died in wars and armed conflicts and to reflect on Coventry's legacy as a city of peace and reconciliation.

If you want to be there for the drop, head to West Orchards Shopping Centre on Wednesday 11 November from 10:45am. It's on Level 3, and it's free.