City set for big platinum jubilee party
Tens of thousands to be spent on celebrations for Queen’s 70 years
A BUDGET of tens of thousands of pounds has been set aside by Portsmouth City Council to cover the cost of events marking the Queen's platinum jubilee in June.
Plans have been drawn up for a 'unique' celebration of the 70th anniversary of her coronation, including beacon lighting and grants for 'environmental legacy projects' across the city.
'The central theme of communities coming together for fun and friendship is what the Royal Household want us to deliver and I think we're ready for that,' cabinet member for communities Chris Attwell said on Tuesday, backing £50,000 for a series of activities.
Two beacons are set to be lit by the council at the start of a four-day bank holiday weekend at the start of June. These will be at Southsea Castle and Fort Purbrook on Portsdown Hill.
Included in the budget is a £20,000 allocation for two 'Big Lunch-style' events in the north and south of the city. Locations have not yet been finalised but they are expected to be King George V playing fields in Cosham and
Southsea Common.
The council is hoping these will be held alongside a series of street parties across the city. A new simpler application form has been put together to encourage the public to host them.
Cosham councillor Lee Mason, the Conservative group's spokesman for communities, welcomed the proposed spread of events across the city.
He also welcomed a planned 'glittering exhibition' of the council's civic silver which will take place to mark both the jubilee and the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War later in June. The exhibition will also feature items loaned from the Royal Navy Trophy collection and museum collections.
'Portsmouth has a long history of community-based celebrations to support all forms of previous significant national events from jubilee celebrations to royal weddings,' a council report said.
'It is our view that these proposed celebrations will not only mark the amazing achievement of 70 years of dedicated national service given by the Queen to her country but also allow communities to come together again to celebrate right across Portsmouth.'
Aside from one-off events to mark the occasion, the council has also set aside £14,000 'to support a series of legacy projects' with an environmental focus. This will see one community group in each ward given funding for schemes such as wildflower gardens or parklets.
Claire Looney, the council's commissioning and partnership manager, said celebrations would fit in with the national programme of events 'but in a fun and Portsmouth-specific way'.
'We're really looking forward to having four days of activities across the city which will help build on that sense of community that has really emerged from the pandemic,' she said. 'It's an opportunity for those communities to come together to celebrate and reflect on the 70 years' of service which the Queen will have given to this country.'
National events will also be shown on the big screen in Guildhall Square.