The boost to UK tourism last year from the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is set to continue into this coming summer with the staging of the Coronation Festival in London.
The festival, which is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, is scheduled to take place in the gardens of Buckingham Palace over four days in July. Central to the event will be the coming together of over 200 companies that hold Royal Warrants of Appointment, for the first time on this scale.
Royal Warrants are only granted to companies that have supplied goods or services to the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, or the Prince of Wales for at least 5 years. Among those exhibiting at the event are: Roberts Radio, Royal Brierley Crystal, Halcyon Days, Milborrow Chimney Sweeps, Austin Reed, Clarins, Gieves & Hawkes, Mappin & Webb and many more.
The all-ticket festival takes place from July 11 to 14, but Thursday July 11 is a Royal preview for invited guests only, with the event opening to the public from July 12 to 14. It will celebrate innovation, excellence and industry through trade and craft, enabling members of the public to sample and buy from the wide range of products and services that will be presented by exhibitors.
There will be four individual showcase areas: Design and Technology; Food and Drink; Style Pursuits and Pastimes; and Homes and Gardens. In addition there will be a section for The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association.
A Gala evening of entertainment will also be a feature of the event, and is intended to be a celebration of music and dance from over the past 60 years. Young talent from the UK and the Commonwealth will be included in the gala, which will showcase entertainers from a wide range of disciplines.
Buckingham Palace is expected to host 60,000 visitors during the celebration, with many more likely to come to London to experience the likely impromptu spin-offs of the main event.
