Beacon to light up the skies of Cambridge for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Cambridge will light its own beacon on June 2 to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Beacons will be lit simultaneously across the country at 9.45pm on that day to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Cambridge’s celebrations will be at the Castle Mound on Castle Hill as part of an event organised jointly by Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridge City Council.
The Jubilee Beacon will be lit by the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence.
The beacon lighting is part of a special event featuring the Salvation Army Band together with a Guard of Honour.
As a special tribute to Her Majesty, a new, specially commissioned song for the Commonwealth will be sung by choirs in all 54 Commonwealth countries at the same time as the lighting of the beacons.
A competition was launched last year asking for musicians and lyricists to submit a song for the Platinum Jubilee and to be heard as the anthem of the celebrations. The winners were composer Atuyei Vincent Chinemelu from Nigeria and lyricist Lucy Kiely from Australia.
At precisely 9.45pm, more than 1,500 beacons will be lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories, and one in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries in recognition of the Queen’s long and selfless service.
A beacon chain, once used as a tool for communication, has now become a symbol of unity across towns, borders, countries and continents and is often the central point of focus for any outdoor gathering or celebration.
The four days of celebrations will include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on the Queen’s 70 years of service.
The Jubilee Beacons are one of the official events of the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 as part of an extended bank holiday, from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5.
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