Croydon is gearing up to celebrate the historic 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, with more than 140 Big Lunch street parties taking place in the borough.
Communities across Croydon are already bringing out the bunting in preparation for local celebrations, with the council waiving road closure fees to enable more street parties over the upcoming Platinum Jubilee Weekend.
Croydon Town Hall will host a beacon lighting ceremony on the evening of 2 June –one of more than 1,500 Jubilee beacons that will be lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories, including one in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries.
The ceremony will run from 8:30pm, where Croydon will have its own beacon outside the Town Hall on Katharine Street, and spectators are invited to join Croydon’s Executive Mayor, Jason Perry, Civic Mayor Cllr Alisa Flemming and the Queen’s representative Colonel Ray Wilkinson in marking this very special occasion.
Prior to the ceremony, the Town Crier will visit North End to deliver a proclamation.
Many more celebrations will be held across the Borough, including several activities and events hosted by Central Library to mark the occasion in the lead up to Jubilee weekend, including themed crafts and story-time, suitable for ages 5 – 10 years.
On 1 June, the Museum of Croydon will launch a special digital exhibit celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee through an exciting online exhibition. Croydon residents wanting to find out more about past royal visits and Jubilee celebrations, interesting facts about the Monarchy in Croydon and fun activities to do with the children can visit the Jubilee 2022 webpage.
In addition, as part of a national campaign to plant trees in honour of the Queen, residents are welcomed to use the council’s Trees for Streets scheme to sponsor a street tree or celebration tree in a park as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy.
Over 480 trees were planted in Croydon last year as the council’s contribution to the Queen’s campaign.
Back in March, Jubilee cherry trees were planted at Croydon University Hospital, with a ceremony that took place on National Reflection Day.
“Platinum Jubilee spirit is very much alive in Croydon – and our communities are very excited to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of dedicated service. Many residents, myself included, remember Her Majesty’s visits to the borough through the years, and have fond memories to share with the next generation.
It’s especially great that so many of our residents are organising street parties – Croydon has always had a fantastic sense of community, and this is a great opportunity for us all to come together with families, friends, colleagues and neighbours to celebrate.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the beacon lighting and joining you in honouring Her Majesty on this historic occasion.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
A full list of activities, including events at other libraries, can be found here. Community-run events in Croydon can be found on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee website.
