Pageant master ready to deliver fitting grand finale
‘People say it has changed their lives; that they never thought they would be doing something like this’
THE nation’s four-day celebration of the Queen’s 70 years on the throne concludes today with the Jubilee Pageant.
The procession around St James’s Park and the streets of central London starts at 2.30pm and will feature 200 horses, 10,000 people and Her Majesty’s Gold State Coach, which has not been seen in public in the capital since the Golden Jubilee 20 years ago.
The 260-year-old carriage, which is made of wood, covered with a thin layer of gold leaf, and weighs more than four tons, is used to transport the monarch to coronations and jubilees, but this year it will not be carrying the Queen.
Instead, original al footage of her coronation in 1953 53 will be displayed on the coach’s ch’s windows, bringing back memories emories of the young Queen on that day.
Adrian Evans, the pageant master, said there re had been a “groundswell of admiration dmiration for the Queen” surrounding ounding the pageant.
“The aspiration at its heart was to create an event that’s a thank you, ma’am from the whole nation,” Mr Evans told The Sunday Telegraph.
He said that the difficulty was to make it “genuinely a people’s pageant”, however he is confident that with the 8,500 people participating from all over the UK and beyond, this has been achieved.
“People say it has changed their lives, that they never thought they would be doing something like this,” he added. “They aren’t chosen because they are performers, or the best ballerinas – these are ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
The event has been split into four acts: Queen and Country, The Time of Our Lives, Let’s Celebrate, and Happy and Glorious. It starts with a military parade of 200 cavalry and 1,500 marching troops, representing the geographic spread of the Armed Forces, including 300 military personnel from Commonwealth countries. The second and third acts will serve as a celebration of the fashion, music and dances of the seven decades the Queen has reigned. From mods to hippies it will celebrate Britain’s cultural heritage. The finale will include artists such as Ed Sheeran performing and 150 national treasures singing the anthem. Among the highlights to watch out for will be: tributes to James Bond, circa 1960, Only Fools and Horses from the 1980s and a Notting Hill Carnival from the 2000s.
There will then be a 12-chapter celebration of Her Majesty that will tell the story of her reign, from her childhood to her wedding and beyond.
It will include sections dedicated to her faith, love of nature and Commonwealth travels – as well as her beloved corgis – and a special thankyou to key workers for their selfless service and sacrifice during the Covid19 pandemic. Mr Evans said that rehearsals for the two-and-a-half hour show were completed on Thursday and that many of those performing today will have met for the first time yesterday.
The purpose of the parade is to celebrate and explore the cultural changes that have taken place during the seven decades of the Queen’s reign.
The pageant draws to a close with a grand musical finale which will begin at 4.30pm at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.