Platinum pageant fit for a Queen: Giant puppet dragon, trapeze artist, and 200 dancers will form part of £15m carnival-style parade for Her Majesty's 70th jubilee
- The Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee for 70 years on the throne next year
- Highlights of the London event include a puppet dragon on a double decker bus
- Also a trapeze artists hanging from a huge balloon emblazoned with her image
- The June 5 event will involve over 1,500 people and cost £10-£15million to stage
With wings stretching across the Mall, a giant puppet dragon the size of a double-decker bus will star in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant next year, it was revealed yesterday.
Other highlights of the event to mark the monarch’s 70-year reign include a trapeze artist hanging from a huge balloon emblazoned with her image.
Models as tall as three storey houses of the ‘Queen’s beasts’ – ten animals that represent her ancestry – will also feature.
A parade will involve 200 young dancers carrying flags designed by children across the world. They will walk alongside a carnival-style marching band wearing colourful hats.
A parade for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant on June 5 next year will involve 200 young dancers carrying flags designed by children across the world
The parade on Sunday, June 5, will cost £10-£15million to stage, all of which will be raised from private donations. It will involve more than 5,000 participants.
The pageant will be privately funded, organisers said, through a mix of corporate partners, business and individuals.
It is being created around a specially-written story by War Horse author Sir Michael Morpurgo called There Once is a Queen.
It will reflect every decade of her reign and will feature naughty corgis, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh.
With wings stretching across the Mall, a giant puppet dragon the size of a double-decker bus will star in the June parade to mark the monarch’s 70-year reign
Winding its way through London, the pageant will be comprised of three ‘acts’. The first will see serving troops and veterans take part in a march.
The second, entitled Celebration, will feature the dragon – the largest human-operated puppet. There will also be a Lion King-style animal extravaganza.
The final act is being kept a closely guarded secret until next year.
The pageant was described as ‘a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom’ by its organisers after the pandemic. It will be the climax of a four-day celebratory weekend.
Nicholas Coleridge, co-chairman of the pageant, said: 'The Platinum Jubilee weekend is an opportunity for the country to emerge re-energised and renewed, expressing optimism and confidence.
'It will be something of a reopening ceremony for the United Kingdom, following a period of uncertainty and hardship, a catalysing moment of unity and fun.
'Through the fusion of ceremonial and pageantry with razzmatazz and festival, we intend to create a spectacle that is at once energising and memorable and a fitting tribute to the Queen.'
Buckingham Palace said 2022's extended break will run from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 after the May bank holiday - which would have been on Monday, May 30 - was pushed back.
The four-day weekend will begin on the Thursday with Trooping the Colour, which will be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic, and a service of thanksgiving for the Queen's reign will be held at St Paul's Cathedral on the Saturday.
On the Thursday of next year's events, Trooping the Colour (pictured) is expected to be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic
A live concert will be staged at Buckingham Palace - Platinum Party at the Palace - also on Saturday.
Performers have yet to be named but it is billed as bringing together some of the world's biggest entertainment stars to celebrate the most significant and joyous moments from the Queen's seven-decade reign.
Other highlights include a day at the races for the Queen - a keen horse breeder - and her family who will fill the royal box for the Derby, held at Epsom Downs, before the concert.
Individual members of the royal family have yet to be named in the plans but it is likely the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other members of the monarchy will attend various events.
