Britain is gearing up for a party atmosphere as four days
of celebrations get underway on Saturday to mark the Queen's 50 years on the
throne.
Estimates from the English Tourist Council
predict that around one third of Britons will take part in a Golden Jubilee
event of some kind over the long bank holiday weekend.
Street parties are being held across the
length and breadth of Britain and thousands more will flock to Buckingham
Palace for a spectacular classical music concert on Saturday evening.
Shedding light on the event will be a total
of 1,956 beacons, which are being lit across the UK with many more in all of
the Commonwealth countries.
Despite having other things on his mind,
England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson still found time to send the Queen
a Golden Jubilee card, ahead of Sunday's first match.
World Cup 'boost'
Lord Sterling of Plaistow, chairman of the
Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust organising events of the next few days, returned
the compliment by pitching for an England victory.
"Hopefully England will win, in which
case there will be a zip - even if they don't win, they are not out, so the
excitement is still there," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The fact that the jubilee coincided with the
start of the World Cup gave an extra boost to the festivities, he added.
Some of the more unusual Jubilee events
include an attempt to build a beach in landlocked Stevenage, complete with sand
castle competitions, beach volleyball, donkey rides and Punch and Judy show.
Reigate is paying tribute with 50 retail
outlets selling some items at 1952 prices.
At 1600 BST, Buckingham Palace gardens will
open its gates to 12,000 lucky revellers who secured tickets in the public
ballot for the "Prom at the Palace".
The concert begins at 2000 BST, with
performances by a distinguished line-up, including Dame Kiri Ti Kanawa and Sir
Thomas Allen.
The concert, hosted by the Queen and the Duke
of Edinburgh, will be shown on giant screens in front of Buckingham Palace for
those who were unable to get tickets.
Prince Charles is expected to attend, with
his long-term companion Camilla Parker Bowles.
The People's Party officially begins on
Monday with garden and street parties and a three-hour pop concert at Buckingham
Palace.
The performers include Irish pop band The
Corrs, ageing rocker Ozzy Osbourne and Pop Idol winner Will Young .
Sound and light show
After the concert, the Queen will go to the
front of the Palace - to the statue of Queen Victoria in the Mall - to light
the last in a chain of beacons stretching round the UK and the world.
The beacon will be lit by the Millennium
flame - which the Queen used to light her beacon on the River Thames on
Millennium Eve in 1999 - and will set off a spectacular 15-minute show of
fireworks, music and moving images.
Overnight on Monday, crowds are expected to
start gathering for Tuesday's main events - the state procession in the Golden
Coach to St Paul's for a Thanksgiving Service in the morning - and parades and
pageants in the Mall throughout the afternoon - followed by a flypast by the
RAF and Concorde.
London Underground is providing an all-night
tube service after Monday's festivities, for people returning from Jubilee
celebrations in the capital, but with restricted entry at busy stations -
similar to the Millennium event.
While Saturday will see temperatures soar
across much of the country, rain and unsettled weather are expected on Monday
and Tuesday.
Temperatures could reach a high of 25C (77F)
on Saturday and 20C (68F) on Sunday in the east.
But by Monday an unsettled front will herald
rain and sunny spells across much of the country.
But with mixed weather reports and the start
of the World Cup, many are also expected to mark the two big occasions at home
with family and friends.
Staying in Britain
Many people decided to take advantage of the
extended bank holiday and travel to tourist destinations across the UK.
However, about 1.5 million people are set to
leave the country for the weekend, only half as many as had been thought.
A spokeswoman for the Association of British
Travel Agents said: "The draw of being in Britain this weekend, with the
World Cup and the Jubilee celebrations, is quite strong."
In England the holiday stretches to four days
whereas in Scotland, people will enjoy three days of celebrations.
The police will be keeping a careful eye that
the celebrations do not get out of hand.
More than 10,000 officers will be on duty in
a multi-million pound security operation.
Ó BBCi