31st January 2020 in In Pictures In_pictures Brexit in pictures: The UK prepares to leave the EU In_pictures Pro and anti-Brexit demonstrations and marches are being held across the country, as the UK counts down to leaving the European Union. The UK will officially leave the EU at 23:00 GMT, ending 47 years of membership. Image copyright PA Wire Image caption The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London is lit up in the colours of the Union Jack. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption In Brussels, the UK flag is removed from the European Council building. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption It is taken down and folded up outside the European Parliament building in the city. Image copyright Henry Nicholls / REUTERS/ Image caption Brexiteers headed towards Parliament Square in London. Image copyright Dominic Lipinski / PA Media Image caption Crowds gathered earlier on Friday in London’s Parliament Square ahead of Brexit celebrations there later. Image copyright DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images Image caption Pro-Brexit supporters wearing Union Jack-themed clothes pose for a photograph in Parliament Square, where Leave Means Leave’s celebrations are happening. Image copyright Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Image caption Supporters of the EU held a procession through Whitehall to “bid a fond farewell” to the union. Image copyright ISABEL INFANTES / AFP Image caption A pro-EU activist wearing a cape decorated with an EU flag design joins a rally organised by civil rights group New Europeans outside Europe House, central London. Image copyright Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Image caption Pro-EU supporters light candles in Smith Square in Westminster. Image copyright Ben STANSALL / AFP Image caption A pro-EU message is projected onto the cliffs in Ramsgate in Thanet, Kent. Image copyright PA Wire Image caption St Andrew’s House, a Scottish Government building, in Edinburgh, is illuminated in the colours of the European flag. Image copyright Danny Lawson / pa Image caption Customers Scott Jones and Laura Jones at the Sawmill Bar in South Elmsall, Yorkshire, where a Brexit party is being held throughout the day. Image copyright PAUL ELLIS / AFP Image caption Earlier, the prime minister held a cabinet meeting at the National Glass Centre, a museum and arts centre in Sunderland, the city that was the first to back Brexit when results were announced after the 2016 referendum. All photos subject to copyright.