Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Date | 5 June 2022 |
---|---|
Venue | London, United Kingdom |
Theme | Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II |
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant was held on Sunday, 5 June 2022 near Buckingham Palace, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Conceived and directed by David Zolkwer with Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, it featured over 10,000 people from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and combined street arts, music, puppets, carnival and costume to celebrate the Queen's reign, as well as honouring the collective service of people and communities across the United Kingdom.[1][2][3][4]
Date and location
The pageant was a major event of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. It took place on 5 June 2022, a Sunday and the last day of the extended Jubilee weekend.[1] The money for the event, which was estimated to cost £15 million, was raised from corporate sponsors and individuals.[5] It involved more than 10,000 people and covered a 3km route, similar in length to the path taken by the Queen during her coronation.[5]
The event was broadcast by the BBC and had a peak viewing figure of 8.7 million and an average audience of 6.3 million people.[6]
The pageant
The pageant featured four acts:[5]
Act 1: For Queen and Country
The first act, For Queen and Country, was composed of a military parade with 1,750 people and 200 horses.[5] To mark the beginning of the pageant, the bells of Westminster Abbey pealed as they did on the Queen's Coronation Day in 1953. The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry led the Gold State Coach, pulled by eight Windsor Grey horses. The coach windows showed original footage recorded on Coronation Day.[7][8] Many units of the British Armed Forces and representatives of the armed services of the Commonwealth of Nations participated:[9]
- Blues and Royals
- Life Guards
- Bahrain Defence Force, Royal Guard Cavalry[10]
- Her Majesty's Naval Service
- Royal Navy (sailors from HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Lancaster)
- Royal Marines
- Band of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines
- Band of HMS Collingwood
- British Army
- Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- Royal Tank Regiment
- Queen's Gurkha Engineers
- Royal Regiment of Scotland
- Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- Adjutant General's Corps
- Royal Irish Regiment
- 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh
- Royal Artillery
- Honourable Artillery Company
- Royal Lancers
- Duke of Lancaster's Regiment
- Army Band Sandhurst
- Army Band Colchester
- Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
- Pipes and Drums of the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)
- Royal Air Force
- Commonwealth of Nations contingent
- Colour Party provided by No.7 Company, Coldstream Guards
- Representatives from 21 countries:[11]
- Australia (Federation Guard)[12]
- The Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Canada
- Fiji
- Guyana
- Jamaica (Jamaica Regiment)
- Lesotho
- Malaysia (Royal Malay Regiment)
- Maldives
- Namibia
- New Zealand, including a Māori war party or taua[13]
- Pakistan (President's Bodyguard)[14]
- Papua New Guinea (Royal Pacific Islands Regiment)[15][16]
- Seychelles
- Sri Lanka
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Uganda
Act 2: The Time of Our Lives
The second act, The Time of Our Lives, showcased changes in culture, technology, music and fashion throughout the past seven decades from 1952 to 2022.[5] Open-top double-decker buses were used to represent different decades of the Queen's reign, with TV personalities, musicians, chefs, sportspeople, designers, and artists taking part in the procession.[17] Onboard the 1950s bus were Katherine Jenkins, Chris Eubank and Sir Cliff Richard, while the 1960s bus was followed by 4 Daleks, and included figures such as Anthea Turner and Basil Brush.[18] The 1990s were represented by Erin O'Connor, Kate Moss, Charlotte Tilbury, Patsy Kensit and Naomi Campbell.[18] Chris McCausland, Sir Mo Farah, Sally Gunnell, Dame Kelly Holmes and Gok Wan appeared on the 2000s bus.[18] Another bus featured children's TV and video game characters, including the Teletubbies, Peter Rabbit and Pac-Man.[18] Additionally, 300 cyclists were led by the Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, and a collection of vintage cars and James Bond cars were paraded across The Mall.[17]
Act 3: Let's Celebrate
The third act, Let's Celebrate, was composed of carnival floats and featured street theatre acts and urban dance from various performer groups.[18] Highlights from the act included a dancer interacting with a 21 feet (6.4 m) dragon puppet, depictions of the Queen's Beasts that were also a part of her coronation, Asian/Bollywood wedding dances, the coronation scenes recreated with an Afro-Caribbean style, a mighty oak and maypole whose ribbons formed a picture of the Queen, depiction of past jubilees and royal weddings via dance, paper and withy butterflies representing different faiths, the River of Hope flags featuring artworks by children, jazz music and sousaphones, a 20 feet (6.1 m) puppet of Godiva, and a mobile circus.[19]
Act 4: Happy and Glorious
The fourth act, Happy and Glorious, featured a performance of "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran as a tribute to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.[17][5] Crowds gathered at the Victoria Memorial towards the end of the ceremony.[5] The Queen, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis of Cambridge, appeared on the balcony of the Buckingham Palace for the finale of the pageant, and everyone sang the national anthem "God Save the Queen" led by the London Community Gospel Choir and the Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines.[17] A flypast by the Red Arrows was cancelled due to bad weather.[17] As the Royal Family left the balcony, the West End cast of Mamma Mia! performed "Dancing Queen".[20] The Queen later thanked everyone for their "good wishes" in a statement.[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Plans announced for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022". platinumjubilee.royal.uk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Queen's platinum jubilee to be marked with four-day bank holiday in 2022". The Guardian. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Queen's Platinum Jubilee plans unveiled by Buckingham Palace". BBC News. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Giant Lady Godiva puppet to join Platinum Jubilee procession". Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Ed Sheeran, corgi puppets, a moving cake and a towering dragon: The Queen's £15 million Platinum Jubilee finale". Sky News. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
- ^ Davies, Caroline (6 June 2022). "Platinum jubilee: one in four Britons joined community events, poll shows". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Gold State Coach to lead the Platinum Jubilee Pageant". The Royal Family. 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Platinum Jubilee: Queen hologram appears in Gold State Coach during pageant". Sky News. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Act 1: For Queen and Country". The Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Royal Guard Cavalry participate in Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee". www.bna.bh. Bahrain News Agency. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "Armed Forces lead Platinum Jubilee Pageant". Royal Air Force. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ Martin, Anthony (9 June 2022). "Australia's Federation Guard takes the lead in Jubilee Pageant". Australian Government Defence. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "NZDF to march at Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London". www.nzdf.mil.nz. New Zealand Defence Force. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ "WATCH: Pakistan represented at Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations". Samaa. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "PNGDF fly flag in London". Loop PNG. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "PNG joins Queen's celebration". The National. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Platinum Jubilee: Queen 'humbled and touched' by celebrations". BBC. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "In pictures: Platinum Jubilee pageant". BBC. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Act 3: Let's Celebrate". The Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ Foster, Max; Said-Moorhouse, Lauren (6 June 2022). "Queen Elizabeth II makes surprise appearance on palace balcony to cap off jubilee". CNN. Retrieved 8 June 2022.