Published: Thursday, 26th May 2022
A four-day festival of Platinum Jubilee celebrations will take place across Oldham from next Thursday, 2 June.
With an array of exciting events lined up over the extended bank holiday weekend, as well as more than 230 street parties being funded in neighbourhoods across the borough, there’s lots for residents to enjoy to mark this truly historic occasion.
Leader of Oldham Council, Councillor Amanda Chadderton, said: “We are really excited to mark the Platinum Jubilee and celebrate Her Majesty’s incredible 70 years of service to our country.
“We have a number of events lined-up for our residents to enjoy and take part in over the course of the extended Bank Holiday and we can’t wait to get things underway.
“I'm proud that such a wide range of activities will be going on in communities right across the borough, which are sure to create lasting memories for us all.”
Festivities begin on Thursday 2 June with an illuminated spectacle as 70 local torchbearers parade through the centre of town before arriving at Oldham Parish Church to take part in the lighting of a Jubilee beacon.
The ceremony coincides with similar events taking place right across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, as we collectively come together to honour the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Performances from Oldham Scottish Pipe Band and Oldham Band Lees’ championship cornet player will follow on the night, with residents able to gaze upon the borough’s specially commissioned beacon among a royal-themed fire garden and a giant Jubilee emblem.
People wishing to attend should book their free places early, as spaces are limited.
Residents can relive the Queen’s Coronation in full the following evening, as Oldham Parish Church hosts a special documentary titled ‘A Queen is Crowned’ on the big screen.
The film, narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier, follows the Queen’s Coronation events of Tuesday 2 June 1953, including Her Majesty’s crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey, and her subsequent procession through London’s streets.
Tickets can be purchased for £5 and include tea, cake, and a Jubilee goodie bag.
Oldham town centre will then be taken over by a range of free outstanding local, national and international street artists, music, theatre and dance performances throughout Saturday and Sunday.
This comes as part of the borough’s 25th Festival Oldham event which this year is inspired by all things Jubilee, as well as Oldham’s connections with the Commonwealth.
Events will be scattered around the centre of Oldham, including Parliament Square, the High Street, Gallery Oldham and Oldham Library.
Meanwhile, more than 230 street parties will be taking place in communities, funded by the council and Action Together.
For full details of our huge range of Jubilee activities, visit the website at www.oldham.gov.uk/jubilee