Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Hampshire

On 6 February, 2022, Queen Elizabeth will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year of service.

Official celebrations will take place in the summer over a special four-day Bank Holiday from 2-5 June.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is looking to compliment the national programme with a number of opportunities for people to get involved through the June Bank Holiday weekend. Plans include:

• Participation in the national Beacon lighting programme with beacons being lit at Fort Purbrook and Southsea Castle to mark the start of the celebratory weekend
• An outdoor Big Lunch event being held in both the north and south of the city on Sunday 5 June. Potentially on Southsea Common and King George V playing field
• Funding for an environmentally focused community legacy project in every ward in the city such as wildflower gardens, beehives or parklets
• Street party events being encouraged across the weekend with online applications opening soon
• A glittering exhibition of civic silver at Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery

The plans were provisionally agreed at a council meeting on 5 January, subject to the funding being agreed as part of the 2022/2023 budget proposals being considered by Portsmouth City Council in February.

Southampton

A series of events and activities are being planned locally in Southampton to celebrate this occasion:

Big Platinum Celebration – Sunday 5 June in Mayflower Park

Unity 101 Community Radio station based in Southampton is organising a special family-friendly celebration event at Mayflower Park to celebrate the Jubilee from 10am – 9pm.

Highlights will include local artists ranging from music and DJs to buskers, dancers and poets, food stalls and cooking demonstrations, funfair rides and family activities.

Tribute Band, Forever Queen, will be performing hit songs from the music legends Queen.

This is a ticketed event with more than half of the tickets being donated free of charge to NHS workers, Hampshire Constabulary, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue, carers, schools and other public sector and community organisations.

More details can be seen on their website here, www.thebigplatinumfestival.org/

The Queen’s Green Canopy

To help the environment and make local areas greener, Southampton City Council will be planting 110 trees as a ‘special gift’ for the Queen in her Platinum Jubilee year. This is part of a commitment from Southampton City Council to plant approximately 300 new trees throughout 2022, which is part of the Greener City Plan to increase the city tree coverage by planting at least 5,000 trees by 2030. Already, 40 trees have been planted in Townhill Green and a further 70 trees will be planted in Riverside Park this year. The trees will create a legacy in honour of the Queen’s leadership of the nation, which will benefit future generations.

As well as this, the council will be designing and planting special Jubilee Flower Beds in the summer with a Union Jack theme in Palmerston Park and two themed flower beds featuring the colours of red, white, and blue flowers in West (Watts) Park.

Jubilee Afternoon Tea with the Mayor of Southampton

The Mayor of Southampton would like to invite people who are celebrating their 70th birthday in 2022 for afternoon tea in the Mayor’s Parlour.

Spaces will be limited, and the successful birthday guests will be chosen at random. More details of how to get involved will be announced soon.

Street Parties in Southampton

More than anything, street parties have traditionally been associated with jubilees and the Platinum Jubilee will be no exception. Southampton residents can apply to close their street or road to host a street party to celebrate with their neighbours.

Find out how you can organise your own street party with your neighbours, here www.southampton.gov.uk/people-places/community-involvement/community-street-closures/

The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund

UKCF (UK Community Foundations) is working with Arts Council England to distribute a new fund which will enable communities to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee through culture and creativity.

Applicants are encouraged to partner with established artists, creatives and cultural organisations to develop their activities, to ensure that The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations give people the chance to experience the best of the country’s culture, while also celebrating an important milestone in our national history. More information here, www.ukcommunityfoundations.org/news/arts-council-jubilee-fund

Lighting Up Southampton for the Jubilee weekend

The Southampton City Art Gallery and Library at the Civic Centre and O2 Guildhall building will be illuminated each evening throughout the Jubilee weekend in red, white, and blue.

The Queens Peace Fountain will also have a red, white and blue water display.

Take a visit to Queen’s Park as throughout the Jubilee weekend the fantastic lighting scheme will be set to red, white, and blue.

Councillor Spiros Vassiliou, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Heritage said: “The programme of activities in Southampton to honour our Queen’s service have a real focus on bringing local communities together to mark the occasion with street parties and local events.”

More activities will be announced in the coming months. For more information, visit www.visitsouthampton.co.uk/platinum-jubilee