In May, the Commonwealth will celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort.
Screenings and community events for everyone to enjoy will take place in Nottingham City over the extended bank holiday weekend, from Saturday 6 to Monday 8 May.
Re-opening for the first time since November, the grounds of Nottingham Castle will host a big screen on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 May to broadcast the Coronation and Coronation Concert. This is thanks to funding made available by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, giving thousands of people the opportunity to come together at public screenings to celebrate this historic moment, in towns and cities across the four nations of the UK.
On Saturday, the Coronation will be screened live from Westminster Abbey in London. Their Majesties will be crowned in the same location as Her Late Majesty The Queen 70 years ago. People will be able to bring picnics and blankets to enjoy the ceremony in the historic surroundings of the Castle grounds. On Sunday evening, the Coronation Concert will be shown live from Windsor Castle, featuring music icons, a world-class orchestra and spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.
The broadcast timings of the Coronation and Concert are yet to be confirmed. Due to limited capacity in the Castle grounds, people will need to pre-book entry to the screenings in advance. Further information will be announced in due course.
The nationwide Coronation Big Lunch will also take place over the bank holiday weekend. Thousands of events are expected across the UK as people take to their streets, gardens, parks and community spaces to join the Coronation celebrations and mark this historic occasion. Neighbours and communities can download a free pack from The Big Lunch website to start planning. In Nottingham, members of the public will be able to apply for free residential street closures to hold their own street parties across the weekend.
Community organisations and members of the public are invited to add their Coronation events to a digital map hosted on the government’s Coronation website, so that others in the local area can find out about events near them.
Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Planning at Nottingham City Council, said: “We are incredibly proud to bring back the castle for our residents and international audiences alike. It’s great to see Nottingham host open days, events and early engagement activities to reconnect the castle with the Nottingham public.”
Ceremonials Minister Stuart Andrew said: “It’s fantastic to hear of the exciting events planned in Nottingham over the special bank holiday weekend for people to join and celebrate the Coronation. Nottingham Castle is a spectacular venue to host a big screen where people will be able to come together to enjoy this historic occasion.”
Further information on Coronation events and activities, including details on how to pre-book for the screenings, will be announced in due course. Please keep up to date by checking www.whatsonnottingham.com or www.mynottinghamnews.co.uk.