Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in B&NES

Picnics in parks, bandstand concerts and illuminated council buildings are part of a host of celebrations being planned across Bath & North East Somerset to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

And residents who want to hold a street party on the historic jubilee weekend can now apply to the council for a road closure before the closing date of April 22.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is encouraging communities to come together for the special celebration to mark Her Majesty The Queen becoming the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

On the Jubilee bank holiday weekend in June there will be Big Jubilee Picnics in the council’s main parks, beacon lighting ceremonies and services of thanksgiving to pay tribute to the Queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign.

Iconic buildings across Bath will be lit up on each night of the weekend and parts of the city centre will be dressed in royal colours.

Bands will play in park bandstands and at Parade Gardens, a planting display will form a Union Jack with the lettering ER 1952-2022. Planting in red, white and blue will also extend across Brock Street, Parade Gardens and Orange Grove.

Council libraries will hold special events including royal-themed story times and craft events with the libraries dressed like a street party. The mobile library will deliver activity packs to people not able to attend events in person. There will also be a ‘Big Jubilee Read’, celebrating 70 years of the Commonwealth with 70 books showing the diversity of communities.

56 schools are taking part in the Queen’s Green Canopy, a national initiative to ‘plant a tree for the jubilee’ creating a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation. This has been extended in Bath and North East Somerset by the council offering all schools a tree.

Flowering cherry, silver birch and beech trees will be planted at the schools by the end of March. The tree donated to the area by the Queen’s Green Canopy project was planted at Widcombe School in November 2021.

Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, said: “In 2022 Her Majesty the Queen will break all the records by being on the throne for 70 years, which is a remarkable moment in her service to our country. The Platinum Jubilee is a chance for communities in B&NES to join together for this special occasion. I look forward to seeing residents enjoying this historic weekend.” 

The council has put together a toolkit to help parish councils and residents organise a Jubilee event or street party. A webinar was also held in February which can be viewed here.

Parishes in B&NES have been contacted by Avon Local Council’s Association to encourage them to take part in the celebrations. Nine parishes have already registered an interested in hosting a beacon lighting ceremony. 

The year-long Platinum Jubilee celebrations take place throughout the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world.

The extended bank holiday, from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June, provides four days of celebrations as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service.

In B&NES the events for each day of the bank holiday weekend are as follows:

Thursday 2 June - Platinum Jubilee Beacons

• Parishes wishing to light a beacon will have a proclamation by the Town Crier at 2pm before pipers play ‘Diu Regnare’ at 9.35pm. Lighting of the beacons at 9.45pm.

Friday 3 June - Thanksgiving

• A day of reflection. The council is working with Bath Abbey and other faith groups on services of thanksgiving across Bath and North East Somerset.

Saturday 4 June:

• Bands will play at Parade Gardens throughout the day, and Bath city centre will be animated with some live music.

Sunday 5 June - The Big Jubilee Lunch

• Big Jubilee picnics at Royal Crescent Lower Lawn in Bath, Memorial Park, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton.

All events in B&NES can be found on the Platinum Jubilee events page.

Find out more about the Platinum Jubilee.