Queen's 2022 Platinum Jubilee to be marked with four-day Bank Holiday weekend

12 November 2020, 00:00

The Queen's 2022 Platinum Jubilee will be marked with a "once-in-a-generation show" over a special four-day Bank Holiday weekend.

The Queen hopes as many people as possible will have the opportunity to join celebrations marking her Platinum Jubilee in 2022, Buckingham Palace has said.

And Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden announced that the milestone will be marked with a special four-day Bank Holiday weekend.

On February 6 2022, the Queen will have reigned as monarch for 70 years - the first time a British sovereign will have been on the throne for seven decades.

Plans are in place to stage a series of events across four days, from June 2-5 in 2022, which will reflect the Queen's reign and her impact on the UK and the world since her accession to the throne in 1952.

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A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The Platinum Jubilee offers an opportunity for the Queen to express her thanks for the support and loyalty Her Majesty has received throughout her reign. The Queen hopes that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to join the celebrations."

The Culture Secretary said: "Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee will be a truly historic moment - and one that deserves a celebration to remember.

"We can all look forward to a special, four-day Jubilee weekend, when we will put on a spectacular, once-in-a-generation show that mixes the best of British ceremonial splendour with cutting edge art and technology.

"It will bring the entire nation and the Commonwealth together in a fitting tribute to Her Majesty's reign."

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Members of the royal family are expected to take part in the celebrations over the extended weekend and in the run-up to the four-day extravaganza.

In keeping with tradition, a Platinum Jubilee medal will be awarded to people who work in public service, including representatives of the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the prison services.

Celebrations marking the milestone will held during 2022 in the run up to the weekend.

The first week in June has been chosen for the Platinum weekend, just like the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees, with the summer month offering a better chance of good weather.

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February 6 1952 - the day the Queen became monarch - is also the anniversary of the death of her father King George VI and not a date the head of state would wish to base celebrations around.

The Royal Household and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) are organising the commemorations which are being developed with some of the UK's leading creative minds, event organisers and world class digital design companies.

The DCMS has said "spectacular" moments in London and other major cities will be complemented by events in communities across the UK and the Commonwealth.

To create the four-day weekend in June 2022, the late May Spring Bank Holiday that year will be moved to Thursday June 2 and an additional Bank Holiday on Friday June 3 will be created.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 saw the Diamond Jubilee River Thames pageant staged alongside a concert featuring Stevie Wonder, Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney.