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People have officially registered 1,775 street parties and private events and 1,458 public events to take place from 2nd June onwards. The majority are clustered around London, where 240 events are registered, followed by 208 in the Manchester district and 133 around Birmingham.
There are 98 celebrations registered in Scotland, including in Orkney and the Isle of Lewis. Further events are planned in Northern Ireland and Guernsey. The official word from Buckingham Palace is for more people to get involved.
How do people usually celebrate a Jubilee?
Street parties are Britain's favourite way of celebrating a royal jubilee. In the summer of 1977, when the Queen marked her silver jubilee, street parties took place all over the UK. People enjoyed food and drinks in streets decorated with flags and bunting. According to the BBC, this was the biggest year in history for street parties, as an estimated ten million people across the UK took part.
The tradition began to celebrate the end of World War I in 1918, when they were known as "peace teas". They were aimed mainly at children to help them forget the austerities of the war.
This year, people are already buying miles of bunting, flags and balloons to get ready for the celebratins. Plenty of Union Jack flags are already on display along the Oxford Street shopping district in London.
John Lewis has revealed searches for “jubilee” on its website have increased by 55% week on week. Searches for "outdoor chairs" are up by 33% compared with last month and searches for "bunting" have increased by 31%.
Food, drinks and decorations
Economists estimate the UK's businesses and householders will spend a total of £823 million on celebrations over the four-day Bank Holiday weekend. Research by Money Supermarket reveals people will spend around £83 each on food, drinks and decorations. This is around 75% more than they spent on celebrating the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018.
Waitrose says sales of Pimm’s have increased by more than 260%, compared with the same period in 2021, as people prepare a toast to Her Majesty. Online searches for "platinum jubilee food and drink" have increased by 114% and searches for "garden party recipes" are up by 59%.
DIY giant B&Q says it has sold 100,000 metres of bunting in recent weeks. Sales of Sainsbury's Union Jack cake stands have rocketed by 2,783% since they first went on sale.
What other events are planned?
The special Big Jubilee Lunch is planned for Sunday 5th June. As part of an annual event that has been taking place since 2009 to encourage neighbours and communities to get to know each other better; the first royal Big Jubilee Lunch celebrated Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. This special Big Jubilee Lunch can be anything from sharing a cuppa with a neighbour in your garden to organising a bigger bash for the whole street.
There will also be organised fireworks all over Britain. Local councils and charities will light up more than 1,500 community and commonwealth beacons, a traditional way of celebrating a royal jubilee, coronation or wedding. Beacons will be shining out all over the UK, on the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and in the United Kingdom's Overseas Territories.
The ceremony will start on Thursday 2nd June at 9pm when the main beacon will be lit at Buckingham Palace. The 21-metre high "Tree of Trees" will be lit to launch the event.
Members of the Girl Guiding organisation will light 70 beacons all over the country. Ex-servicemen and women from the Walking with the Wounded organisation will ensure beacons are shining out from the highest peaks of each of the Home Nations.
Iconic British dishes
If you're having a street party, there are some iconic British party dishes that are likely to make an appearance.
A new Jubilee Pudding of lemon Swiss roll and Amaretti trifle has been invented in honour of the jubilee. It consists of Swiss rolls, lemon curd, St Clement’s jelly, custard, Amaretti biscuits, mandarin coulis and chocolate, served in a bowl big enough for 20 people!
Around 5,000 people entered a competition, run by royal grocer Fortnum and Mason and the Big Jubilee Lunch Charity, to invent a special dessert for the 96-year-old Queen. The winner was Jemma Melvin, a copywriter and amateur baker from Southport, who was inspired by the lemon posset served when the Queen married Prince Philip.
Other traditional British party fare includes Scotch eggs, cheese and onion quiche and Battenburg cake. The best cheese and onion quiche is made with double cream, whole milk, eggs, a rich cheese such as cheddar or gruyère, caramelised onions or chutney and Dijon mustard, served in a soft pastry crust.
The beauty of cheese and onion quiche is that it can be made with vegan or gluten-free ingredients too, so it's suitable for people with special dietary requirements.
Keep your party fare fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.
Get involved
The official Platinum Jubilee website is calling for everyone to get involved, whether you're a school, local authority, business, community group, or individual. The site contains a tool kit to help people plan their celebration such as children’s games ideas, recipes and a free downloadable playlist that includes Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Kylie Minogue and more.
The special four-day Bank Holiday is aimed at encouraging communities to get together and have fun, while celebrating the historic milestone.
Other events include making and decorating a treat box fit for the Queen, a pizza-cooking party, traditional tea parties, a picnic in a pub, jubilee flower arranging, funfairs and plenty more.
God save the Queen!