The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons were lit on 2 June 2022 throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and British Overseas Territories and each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries, in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[1][2][3]

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons
Date2 June 2022
Location
ThemeCommemoration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II
Websitequeensjubileebeacons.com
Lighting of the beacon in Canberra, Australia, by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Lighting of the beacon in Wellington, New Zealand, by former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae and the Mayor of Wellington Andy Foster
Beacon on Snowdon

It followed the United Kingdom's long tradition of celebrating royal jubilees, weddings and coronations with the lighting of beacons.[1][2]

A Commonwealth Song was sung by choirs all over the world to coincide exactly with the lighting of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons in all the 54 countries of the Commonwealth.[4]

Locations edit

An estimated 3,500[5] Jubilee Beacons were lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and British Overseas Territories.[2][3]

For the first time, Jubilee beacons were also lit in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth nations throughout various time zones in 2022.[1][2][4] Commonwealth countries with their capitals are listed below:

Country Capital
  Antigua and Barbuda St. John's
  Australia Canberra
  The Bahamas Nassau
  Bangladesh Dhaka
  Barbados Bridgetown
  Belize Belmopan
  Botswana Gaborone
  Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan
  Cameroon Yaoundé
  Canada Ottawa
  Cyprus Nicosia
  Dominica Roseau
  Eswatini Mbabane
Lobamba
  Fiji Suva
  The Gambia Banjul
  Ghana Accra
  Grenada St. George's
  Guyana Georgetown
  India New Delhi
  Jamaica Kingston
  Kenya Nairobi
  Kiribati South Tarawa
  Lesotho Maseru
  Malawi Lilongwe
  Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Putrajaya
  Maldives Malé
  Malta Valletta
  Mauritius Port Louis
  Mozambique Maputo
  Namibia Windhoek
  Nauru Yaren
  New Zealand Wellington
  Nigeria Abuja
  Pakistan Islamabad
  Papua New Guinea Port Moresby
  Rwanda Kigali
  Saint Kitts and Nevis Basseterre
  Saint Lucia Castries
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Kingstown
  Samoa Apia
  Seychelles Victoria
  Sierra Leone Freetown
  Singapore Singapore[a]
  Solomon Islands Honiara
  South Africa Pretoria
Cape Town
Bloemfontein
  Sri Lanka Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Colombo
  Tanzania Dodoma
  Tonga Nukuʻalofa
  Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain
  Tuvalu Funafuti
  Uganda Kampala
  United Kingdom London
  Vanuatu Port Vila
  Zambia Lusaka

Song for the Commonwealth edit

A song was written to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee and was sung alongside the lighting of the Beacons around the UK and across the Commonwealth. Organised by the Commonwealth Resounds, hundreds of choirs joined to sing A Life Lived with Grace. The song was put together after a call for lyrics and subsequent compositions was won by Lucy Kiely and Vincent Atueyi from Australia and Nigeria, respectively.[6]

The competition for the song was judged by:

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Singapore has no official distinct capital city as it is a city-state.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Plans announced for The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Central Weekend 2022". platinumjubilee.royal.uk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Queen's platinum jubilee to be marked with four-day bank holiday in 2022". The Guardian. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Queen's Platinum Jubilee plans unveiled by Buckingham Palace". BBC News. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons". Commonwealth Resounds. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Platinum Jubilee: Beacons light across the globe to celebrate Queen's reign". BBC.com. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Winners of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Beacons". Commonwealth Resounds. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.