Get ready for four days of Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Oldham

Oldham is set to host a four-day festival of Platinum Jubliee celebrations starting next week.

Her Majesty The Queen will be the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years of service to the nation, and the celebrations in Oldham include more than 230 street parties, and an array of exciting events to mark the occasion.

Festivities begin on the first day of the extended bank holiday next week.   On Thursday 2 June expect 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 across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.  More than 70,000 Big Jubilee Lunches are planned in the four UK nations over the weekend, with an expected ten million people set to sit down with their neighbours on Sunday 5 June, to celebrate.

Performances from Oldham Scottish Pipe Band and Oldham Band Lees’ championship cornet player will follow on Thursday 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.

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.”

Events will be scattered around the centre of Oldham, including Parliament Square, the High Street, Gallery Oldham and Oldham Library.

More than 230 street parties will be taking place in communities, funded by the council and Action Together.

For full details of the Jubilee activities in Oldham, click here.

Queen's Platinum Jubilee beacon
Thursday 2 June, from 9pm, Oldham Parish Church Gardens, (Ticketed event)

Festival Oldham
Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June, 12noon - 5pm, across the town centre

A Queen Is Crowned (A documentary of the Queen's coronation)
Friday 3 June, 8pm - 9.30pm, Oldham Parish church

Jubilee Street Parties
Across the Bank Holiday, Various locations and times across the borough
 

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.