‘Remember the fallen at home’ as public told to avoid the Cenotaph
THE public have been banned from this year’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph for the first time in history, after the Culture Secretary asked people to remember the fallen at home.
Oliver Dowden said he was announcing the restrictions on the traditional 11am service with a “heavy heart” but insisted the measure was needed to keep veterans safe.
A limited number of people, including Armed Forces veterans, members of the Royal Family, and international leaders, will be permitted to attend the service. It will be made “Covid-secure” by minimising attendance and ensuring strict social distancing measures are in place. The annual veterans’ march past the memorial will not take place.
Mr Dowden said: “This Remembrance Sunday has a particular significance as it marks 100 years since the Cenotaph was installed.
“Whilst we will mark this occasion properly, it is with a heavy heart that I must ask people not to attend the ceremony at the Cenotaph this year in order to keep veterans and the public safe.
“We will ensure our plans for the day are a fitting tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and that our veterans are at the heart of the service – with the nation able to watch safely from home.”
It comes as London prepares to move into tier two restrictions, banning the mixing of households indoors and in restaurants and bars. An estimated crowd of 10,000 people were in attendance for 2019’s service, in which the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex all laid wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph.
The Queen looked on from a balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, flanked by the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said this year’s local Remembrance events should comply with social distancing rules and restrictions on the number of people permitted to meet outside, where applicable.
Gatherings involving more than six people “will need to be organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body”, and will require a risk assessment to be carried out to reduce the potential spread of Covid-19. For those in tier three regions, which are under the most severe restrictions, Government regulations state those attending Remembrance Sunday gatherings should be limited to people there as part of their work, those providing voluntary services in connection with the event, members of the Armed Forces, veterans, their representatives or carers, and spectators should watch on their own from afar. Bob Gamble, assistant director for commemorative events for the Royal British Legion, said: “The decision not to proceed with the annual march past the Cenotaph has been taken by the Government, based on expert advice, to protect the health and well-being of all those who would have been travelling to and participating in the event.
“While it is deeply disappointing that the march will not be taking place this year, we can all still play a part in ensuring we mark the occasion appropriately and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces on Remembrance Sunday.
“We are encouraging people across the country to participate in their own personal moment of remembrance, whether that be watching the service on television or pausing for the twominute silence.”