St Albans Platinum Party – more than 10,000 join the fun
Thousands of people enjoyed a free City Centre street party in St Albans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The St Albans Platinum Party, on Thursday 2 June, was held to mark Her Majesty’s 70 years of service as Monarch.
Among the attractions were live music and dozens of market stalls selling takeaway food and drink with plenty of outdoor seating.
The climax came with the lighting of a beacon on the balcony of the Museum + Gallery by the Mayor, Councillor Geoff Harrison, and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Marion Brown.
This coincided with the lighting of around 1,500 other beacons at major cities and other locations in the UK and overseas territories.
The Platinum Party was centred on St Peter’s Street, which was closed to traffic, and included an action-packed entertainment programme for people of all ages.
Children’s activities included games, face painting and circus skills workshops.
The Mayor, Cllr Harrison, said:
This was a wonderful way for St Albans District to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of service. I was hugely impressed with the turnout and the electric atmosphere.
After two years of lockdowns, this was a superb community event that got people out and about and together again. It was an honour to light the beacon to bring the day to a close and show our support for the Queen.
Councillor Danny Clare, Lead Councillor for Events for organisers St Albans City and District Council, said:
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is an historic occasion and we committed to delivering a memorable event for all our residents.
Our City Centre party brought the whole community together and will provide us with many lasting, happy memories. I thank all those involved in organising it and providing the marvellous entertainment, the traders that worked an incredibly long day, and the thousands of residents that made the event their own and brought a welcome celebratory atmosphere.
Pictures: scenes from the Platinum Party including, first below, the Mayor (centre), Cllr Geoff Harrison, with the mace bearer (left), Thomas Wrench, and the Town Crier (right), Stephen Potter.
Councillor contact: Danny Clare, Vice-Chair of the Regeneration and Business Committee, 07414 585888, cllr.d.clare@stalbans.gov.uk.
Contact for the media: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer:
01727 819533, john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk