The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Celebrations - June 2012

The Official Celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II will take place over a long weekend from 2^nd to 5^th June 2012.

Queen Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne after the death of her father George VI on 6^th February 1952. The celebrations for the Jubilee will take place in every country throughout the Commonwealth. . The Diamond Jubilee Celebrations will sparkle and out do any of the celebrations for the previous Jubilees, Silver (25 years) in 1977 and Golden (50 years) in 2002.

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

National and regional events are being organised by the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The Department of Culture will be the government department responsible for coordinating the governments celebrations.

If you live in the United Kingdom you get an extra days Bank Holiday. A Bank holiday is a Public Holiday and many people will still receive wages for that day, even though they are not at work! The Spring Bank Holiday, normally the last Monday in May has been moved to June4th and an extra day, June 5^th, has been added. There will be a concert in London and if it’s anything like the Golden Jubilee concert it will be a massive hit. The fireworks after the last concert panned over Buckingham Palace and were superb.

Details of the Queen's Jubillee Concert, to be held at Buckingham Palace are slowly being released. It seems that tickets will be available as a ballot- my daughters and I will be asking for tickets in the hope that one of us gets lucky, why? Well Mel C has just announced that the Spice Girls will reform for the Diamond Jubilee!! Wow, we saw them in London some er years ago and had a really good time. The actual acts are still to be announced and the list is shrouded in secrecy,, apart that is, from the Spice Girls! Update to this, the acts are slowly being announced. The concert will be broadcast ive on BBC 1 and BBC Radio 2 in the UK and around the world. US viewers will be able to watch it on the next day on ABC. Last minute announcements include Sir Tom Jones and Jessie J. It still has not been confirmed that the spice girls will be there, but you never know!

Lucky ticket winners will get seats by the Queen Victoria Memorial and are invited to a picnic in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Amongst the acts officially announced are Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Dame Shirey Bassey.

The tickets were issued by ballot to 18,000 peopke and it will be shown live on screens in Hyde Park , St James Park and the Mall. The concert is on Monday 4th June and starts at 7:30 pm.

RIVER THAMES DIAMOND JUBILEE PAGEANT

The River Thames will be the location for a grand spectacle- of boats- probably the largest flotilla of small boats on the Thames for hundreds of years. In 1622 a flotilla of boats followed the James I, with his Queen, the first King of England and Scotland, on the River Thames from Hampton Court to Whitehall. It was described at the time as “the most magnificent triumph ever to be floated on the Thames”. The modern spectacle is something a little different. It is planned that at High Water on Sunday 3^rd June 2012 a thousand boats of all shapes and sizes will muster on the River Thames so that the Queen can lead this river borne pageant. All sorts of boats will be there, River Passenger services, Armed forces, police, fire and rescue but also pleasure craft and if you haven’t got a motor make sure that you bring your oars! All the boats will be decked out in Union flags and I guess that quite a few of the “sailors” will be adopting traditional nautical outfits. It’s not just boats, there will be music, sprouting geysers, pyrotechnics and smoke and even daytime fireworks. One of the highlights must be the floating belfry which will ring its bells as it moves down the River Thames, and then answered by the churches that it passes. There will be horns and whistles and noise and plenty of viewing spaces along the River side. Wow! Some of you may remember the Sex Pistols cruise down the River Thames for the Silver Jubilee; it won’t be anything like that!

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee “Big Lunch”

Buckingham Palace will encourage street parties but there is also “The Big Lunch” where people will be encouraged to celebrate the jubilee with lunch with their families and their communities. The “Big Lunch” is where people decide what they want to do and where they want to do it. There is at team at the Big Lunch to help you with ideas and any questions that you may have – such as closing your road or using your local park. They can be contacted on 0845 850 8181 I am hoping to prompt our church to hold a lunch on our local school field and I hope that many local people will be interested in just having fun.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons are scheduled to be lit all around the world. The United Kingdom has a history of lighting Beacons to celebrate special occasions. Many years ago a Beacon chain would have been used to communicate victory in battle, once you saw the Beacon lit in the distance, you would light yours as a signal to the next one in the chain to light theirs,- and so it would continue. It is hoped that a minimum of 2012 Beacons will be lit worldwide. There were beacons lit to celebrate the millennium, and this is the first opportunity since 2000 that Beacons will be burnt. You can register to take part, all you need is a suitable site….oh yes, and something to burn!

The ast Beacon will be it on the mall, after the Concert at Buckingham Palace- it is the last of the 4,000 beacons that have been lit around the country- estimated time for the lighting is 10;30pm, so let us hope and pray that it does not rain.

The Jubilee People’s Millions

There will be special lottery grants for community projects which are named “The Jubilee People’s Millions” These were chosen between 27^th June 2011 to 30^th June 2011 by a large television audience. The aim was to give each organisation up to £60,000 to be spent before the actual celebration. There was a wide range of winners but each project had to impress a TV audience that it was credible and would succeed if the money was given.

One winner was the Brainy Dogs project in the Anglia TV region. With the funding, rescue dogs from Felixstowe Blue Cross will be used as companions for people who have suffered brain injuries or developed neurological conditions. It is hoped that the dogs can be trained to help people with simple tasks to give them more independence. Hence the name “Brainy Dogs”.

The Royal family is visiting as much of the world as possible. Whilst the Queen and Prince Phillip will be concentrating on visiting towns and cities across the United Kingdom, other members of the family will be visiting some commonwealth countries.

Just announced- the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Katherine, will visit the Far East, calling at Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall have a busy schedule and will visit, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Prince Harry is doing his share too, visiting Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

The Queen, Prince Philip and Catherine started their Jubilee tour off in Leicester, and I was there! They came to De Montfort University and whilst the Queen and Catherine attended a fashion show the Prince met some younger children engaged in projects in local schools. After a service in Leicester Cathedral they walked through the city around the clock tower area, meeting some of the local people- it was a truly awesome day.

The Official Emblem of the Jubilee

Last year viewers of the popular children’s show “Blue Peter “were asked to enter a competition to select a Jubilee emblem. The winner was a ten year old girl, Katherine Dewar from Chester, and her design is now the Official emblem of the Jubilee.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Official Medal

An official medal has been minted which marks the achievements of those in the armed forces, emergency services and prison service. The medal is the size of 10p coin and has the dates of the Jubilee 1952-2012. One of the categories to be awarded the medal will be living holders of the Victoria Cross and the George Cross Medals as well as those who are currently serving. PCSO from the police service who have completed five years of service are also eligible for the medal.

Royal Borough of Greenwich

Greenwich will be given the Royal Borough status by the Queen in recognition of its close links with the royal institution, and she will open the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which will be the venue for the Olympics. A town will be granted city status by Her Majesty the Queen under the Royal Prerogative but she will take advice from Ministers in making her choice.. This status is not often given, the last status changes were made in 2002 to mark the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and in 1992 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne. Applications had to be made by 27^th May 2011 and a decision is expected around the time of the Jubilee celebrations in 2012. There is a short list of 26 towns which are hoping to achieve city status. These are: Bolton, Bournemouth, Chelmsford, Colchester, Coleraine, Corby, Craigavon, Corby, Doncaster, Croydon, Dorchester and Dudley, Dumfries, Gateshead and Goole, Luton, Medway and Middlesborough, Milton Keynes, Perth, Reading and Southend, St. Asaph, St. Austell, Stockport, Tower Hamlets and Wrexham. There is also the opportunity for one town to apply for a Lord Mayorality which gives the town the right to have a Lord Mayor. The applicants for this honour are: Armagh, Cambridge, Derby, Gloucester, Lancaster and Newport, Peterborough, Salford and Southampton, St. Albans, Sunderland and Wakefield.

Woodland Trust

There will be 60 new woodlands planted, one of which will be a massive 500 acres, the others will be approximately 60 acres each. This is an ambitious project which aims to plant 6 million trees in the United Kingdom. Everyone can get involved, from people who own land and can plant large woods to the family with a small back yard who would be able to plant just one tree. Schools and Community groups can apply for free tree packs which provide saplings, many of which have been grown on the Queen’s estates. You can even buy the trees online from the Woodland Trust with advice on which tree to select and how they grow

With all this organised and more to come 2012 is the time to party, party, party. The flags will be out it is time to enjoy ourselves ! But don't over do it as it's the Olympics in the following month.

The Jubilee weekend-

Saturday 2nd June- The Queen is going to Epsom to the Derby- its her party and she is going to attend her favourite race of her favourite sport- hope she has a few bob on the winner

Saturday 2nd June For those not at the races there is the Jubilee Family Festival in Hyde Park with Mylene Klass and Jon Culshaw- there is a concert and perfomances from Strictly but it is rumoured that the tickets have already gone

Sunday 3rd June

The Thames River pageant with the Queen joining 1,000 boats as they progress down the Thames. Throughout London there are large screens which will enable you to enjoy the procession.

Big Jubilee Lunch- there are jubilee lunches taking place all over England- I shall be at Seaford in Sussex. The biggest lunch is in Piccadilly where from 11:30am to 6pm the streets will be pedestrianised for a Big Jubilee Lunch party.

Diamond Jubilee Festival- This festival at Battersea parks is celebrating the Queen's reign. It is rumoured that all 70,000 tickets have been sold

Monday 3rd June

It's time for the concert and the ighting of the Beacons

Tuesday 4th June

Service of Thanksgiving

This is perhaps the most important part of the celebrations for the Queen. At 10;30 a.m. the Queen and her family will arrive at St Paul's Cathedral ( yes the squatters have been removed), for a service and then a reception and lunch in Westminster Hall.

Carriage procession and Fly past

Perhaps the part I have been waiting for as the Royal Family leave Westminster Hall and travel back to Buckingham Paace in state carriages where they will receive the 60 gun salute.

At 3:30pm there is a balacony scene with the family coming out to watch an RAF fly past

Wow I can't wait