Buckingham Palace sets schedule for Queen's 70-year celebration

Robert Besser
13 Jan 2022, 15:30 GMT+10

Buckingham Palace has announced plans for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, including street parties, a concert and a chance to tour the Queen's homes
The celebrations will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from 2nd to 5th June
The first event will be a competition to invent a new pudding to celebrate the Queen's 70-year reign

LONDON, England: Buckingham Palace has announced plans for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrating her 70 years on the throne, which will include street parties, a concert with some of the world's "biggest entertainment stars" and a chance to tour the Queen's homes.

The celebrations will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from 2nd to 5th June.

The first event will be a competition to invent a new pudding to celebrate the Queen's 70-year reign. Finalists will be judged by an expert panel that includes Dame Mary Berry.

On 6th February the Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, and a variety of celebrations will be held throughout the year.

The first week in June was chosen for the celebratory weekend, as with the Queen's Golden and Diamond jubilees, to take advantage of summer weather.

As the Queen was advised by her medical team in October to rest for several weeks after an overnight hospital stay, it is uncertain if the Queen will be able to attend.

This jubilee will be the Queen's first celebration without her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021.

During the celebrations, Sandringham and Balmoral palaces will be open to the public during the celebratory weekend in June.

At the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, a "River Of Hope" made up of 200 silk flags decorated with images of hope drawn by children, will be displayed along the Mall in central London.

Some 60,000 trees were also planted as part of the Queen's Green Canopy initiative, to encourage people to "plant a tree for the jubilee."