Queen’s £15m pageant will be a ‘reopening ceremony’ for Britain
A PAGEANT for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will mark the rebirth of the UK after long months of pandemic gloom, say organisers.
Co-chairman Nicholas Coleridge said: “The Platinum Jubilee weekend is an opportunity for the country to emerge re-energised and renewed, expressing optimism and confidence.
“It will be something of a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom, following a period of uncertainty and hardship, a catalysing moment of unity and fun.
“We intend to create a spectacle that is at once energising and memorable and a fitting tribute to the Queen.” Organisers said the event, with a budget of £10million to £15million and involving participants from across the UK and the Commonwealth, is expected to be one of the biggest celebratory events for decades.
Details of the pageant, to be held on Sunday June 5 next year, were revealed at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum yesterday.
The build-up will start on February 6, when the Queen will have reigned as monarch for a record 70 years.
The Queen and members of the royal family will travel around the country attending a range of events during the next few months, culminating with the Platinum JubileeWeekend.
The four-day event will begin on the Thursday with Trooping the Colour, which will be staged
in full for the first time since the pandemic. A service of thanksgiving for the Queen will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on the Saturday. Sunday’s pageant will comprise three acts, the first will feature a
traditional march of troops and veterans along The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
The second act, a parade entitled Celebration, will feature a dragon larger than a double-decker bus with a wingspan the width of The Mall.
There will also be circus acts including a trapeze artist suspended underneath a huge balloon printed with an image of the Queen. Details of the pageant’s third act are a secret.
The pageant will be privately funded through a mix of corporate partners, business and individuals.
Pageant master Adrian Evans said: “So many people feel such a sense of warmth and admiration for the Queen that doing something for her feels like it’s a gift.”