The overall programme for The Golden Jubilee Weekend, Central London. June 1st-4th 2002
The Jubilee Weekend will comprise a four day festival of events culminating in a procession in Central London commemorating the past fifty years of the Queen’s reign, and the cultural diversity achieved both within the UK and across the Commonwealth.
Saturday 1 June
The Golden Jubilee celebrations will start on the evening of Saturday 1st June with a classical concert including major international stars in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, watched by an audience of 12,000 drawn by public ballot. It will also be seen by many thousands on large video screens specially erected in London and other towns and cities across the United Kingdom to enable as many people as possible to share in the celebrations. Around 1500 invited guests will occupy two seating stands on the Queens Gardens opposite the front of Buckingham Palace to view the concerts on screen. Over 1.2 million people applied for tickets for the concerts on Saturday and Monday.
Sunday 2nd June
This day will be more of a day of reflection focussing on Jubilee church services and bell-ringing across the nation and in the Commonwealth, where The Queen is also Head of State of 15 other countries.
Monday 3rd June
A chain of beacons and bonfires will be lit across the UK from Lands End to John O’Groats and from Great Yarmouth to Holyhead, at the Arctic Circle and in Antartica as well as across the Commonwealth, as a climax to the day’s festivities. The beacons will form a chain across the UK including the lighting by The Queen of the National Beacon in Central London.The major informal festivities on Monday 3rd June start with a rock & pop concert in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in the evening, again watched by an audience of 12,000 drawn from the public and broadcast through screens nationwide as well as on television. The concert features a ‘Who’s Who’ of the music business and is under the direction of Sir George Martin. Afterwards, The Queen will light the special beacon on the Mall outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. This will be followed by a spectacular “Son et Lumiere Fireworks” programme in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace. Around 1500 invited guests will occupy two seating stands on the Queens Gardens opposite the front of Buckingham Palace to view the concerts on screen, the Beacon lighting ceremony, the Son et Lumiere and the Fireworks display.Tuesday 4th JuneFrom early in the day, programmes of music will be presented on stages on Queens Gardens opposite the front of Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Park, Green Park and Trafalgar Square. Around 1500 invited guests will occupy two seating stands on the Queens Gardens to view the State Procession in the morning and the Festival procession in the afternoon. At 10am there will be a State Procession from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s Cathedral for a Thanksgiving Service. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will use the Coronation Gold Coach to proceed to St Paul’s. After the service at St Paul’s and a lunch at The Guildhall hosted by the City, The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will return to Horse Guards and then down to The Queen Victoria Memorial where they will watch the Festival Procession.
The Festival Procession route starts at Admiralty Arch and proceeds down The Mall to the Royal Dais on the Queen Victoria Memorial. Music will accompany all processions along the entire route.
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
2,000 participants, flamboyant costumes and eternal energy
CHICKENSHED
1,000 children celebrate the joy of music and performance
GOSPEL CHOIR
4,000 singers from all over the country with uplifting and unforgettable music
SERVICES PARADE
over 4,000 participants, horses, cars, fire engines, ambulances, a lifeboat, a helicopter, motorcycles, scooters, scouts, guides, cadets, Army Navy, Air Forces and many more...
50-YEARS PARADE
A truly British creative realisation of the last fifty years.10 specially designed tableaux on customised 40ft trailers, a dazzling collection of vehicles, over 400 participants, celebrities and stars from the worlds of sport and entertainment.
COMMONWEALTH PARADE
4000 colourful participants celebrate the culture, the music and the dance of The Commonwealth.
and finally
A flypast by the RAF and Concorde as The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected in the area of The Mall, St. James’ Park, Green Park and Hyde Park. Welfare facilites are provided. Bring your friends, a picnic, a cushion and arrive early.
