Eighty years after the Allied liberation of Norway, commemorative events in Oslo honoured the Australian and British aviators who took part in Operation Doomsday. 

The ceremonies marked the end of Nazi occupation in 1945 and highlighted the role of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel in the operation.

Commemorations began on Saturday May 10 with Eureka/Rebecca, a unique site-specific walking concert held in the ravines near Oslo's Gardermoen Airport – the site of a tragic crash that killed several British and Australian service personnel on May 10, 1945.

Created by visual artist Johanne Laache and composer Fredrik Otterstad, Eureka/Rebecca led audiences along a nature trail tracing the final journey of the fallen – from the announcement of Germany’s surrender to the crash of the Short Stirling aircraft LK147, and finally to a choral memorial for the fallen.

Performed by Jessheim Girls’ Choir, Sølvguttene (The Silver Boys), Kammerkoret YMIR, and VoiceOver Youth Choir, the concert interwove historical texts, imagined monologues, national anthems and a funeral hymn.

The result was a moving, immersive experience that allowed the audience to relive the emotions of hope, loss and remembrance.

“This is not just a concert – it’s a historical retelling, a reflection, and a memorial all in one,” Otterstad said. 

“We wanted people to feel the journey, the anticipation, the tragedy, and ultimately the silence left behind.”

The second phase of the commemoration unfolded the next day at Vestre Gravlund Cemetery in Oslo. 

'Though far from home, they shared a mission rooted in courage and solidarity, and Norway has honoured and cared for our fallen for the 80 years that have passed.'

Norwegian, British and Australian officers – including military attachés, embassy representatives and veterans’ organisations - gathered for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Allied Airmen’s Memorial.

Among those remembered were RAAF personnel who served under British Royal Air Force Transport Command during the final days of the war. 

Many of the fallen perished in aviation accidents as they flew into newly liberated Norway - including the crew of LK147, whose mission tragically ended just short of the runway at Gardermoen.

“The Australians who died here did so in the service of peace – bringing hope to a country that had lived through five long years of war,” Australia's Defence Attaché to Northern Europe, Group Captain Sarah Stalker, said.

“Though far from home, they shared a mission rooted in courage and solidarity, and Norway has honoured and cared for our fallen for the 80 years that have passed.”

Descendants of the fallen were invited to take part in the commemorations.

Australian and British families travelled to Oslo to honour their relatives – some standing for the first time on the very ground where their grandfathers or great-uncles had served and lost their lives.

Their presence added a powerful, personal dimension to the ceremonies, bridging generations and continents. It transformed remembrance into a shared, living history.