The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

An opportunity to celebrate and create a fantastic legacy too

As Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK and the second largest in the world of its kind, I am privileged to be able to witness the thoughtful, innovative and exciting ways in which communities are seeking to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s seventy years of dedicated public service.

Thanks to National Lottery players, we have awarded £4.5 million to 91 projects across the UK through our Platinum Jubilee Fund, providing opportunities for people to come together and create lasting legacies for communities. Amongst these is Headway Worcestershire, that will host the world’s first A‘ cquired Brain Injury Games’ where the injured will come together to take part in a series of sporting events and the Group for Recycling in Argyll and Bute Trust, Scotland that will bring the young and old together to share skills that will help reduce waste in the community, whilst in Wales, The Merthyr Tydfil and District Naturalists’ Society will develop people’s beekeeping skills, teaching the importance of pollinating insects to the natural world.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting a Jubilee project - Erlas Walled Victorian Garden in Wrexham, North Wales where people with additional needs, such as learning disabilities and autism, are creating a garden to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee, bringing them together with local residents and commerce to design and build the garden. The garden will be a fitting legacy of this momentous year, providing a wonderful new community space, enabling individuals to gain valuable experience and skills from which future opportunities may arise.

We are also proud to support The Big Jubilee Lunch with an award of £2.3 million. Taking place on the Platinum Jubilee weekend, events across the UK will bring thousands of communities together, building on the tremendous example of community cohesion that is so key to the UK’s recovery from the pandemic.

In addition, grants of up to £10,000 from The National Lottery Awards for All programme – which gives out almost £80 million of National Lottery each year – are available for community-led events throughout the entire Platinum Jubilee year. To date, we have awarded over £5.5 million through this programme to more than 1,000 groups across the UK to support their Jubilee activities.

Our latest Community Research Index shows that over half of all UK adults, approximately 25 million people, are likely to join in with celebrations in their local community, which is a marvellous outcome in itself. I am delighted that people throughout the UK will celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s incredible achievement, and are keen to develop sustainable legacies that will ultimately improve their communities. For me, the Platinum Jubilee is a catalytic event that can generate legacies that will improve the lives of countless people for years to come.

The National Lottery Community Fund is available to everyone throughout the country, and so may I invite the UK’s parliamentarians to direct your constituents to us where we put communities first and stand ready, willing and able to support them to thrive and prosper. This, of itself, would create a living testament to Her Majesty’s tremendous dedication to us all, that could last for generations to come.

You can find out about the Platinum Jubilee celebratory events happening in your area by visiting the official map (scan QR code to take a look).