Communities celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee across the UK thanks to National Lottery funding

Communities across the UK came together over the Platinum Jubilee weekend to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of public service, with hundreds of events taking place thanks to support from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Up to 25 million people were expected to join in with celebrations in their local community over the bank holiday weekend, according to recent research* by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Thanks to £4.5 million of National Lottery funding awarded to 91 impactful community projects across the UK through The Platinum Jubilee Fund, as part of a wider contribution of £22 million towards the Platinum Jubilee from The National Lottery, people were provided with opportunities to come together to mark this momentous occasion.

One of these celebratory events took place in Rochester on Thursday 2
June, where the Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, Blondel Cluff CBE, joined Intra Arts, a group awarded £50,000 to bring people together for the Platinum Jubilee. The event launched the beginning of its two-year project celebrating ‘local Queens’ - women from history and the present day who have made a positive difference in Medway.

Xtina Lamb, Director at Intra Arts, said: “We were immensely proud to launch The Cut Of Her Cloth - a project highlighting women leaders, past and present, who have lived in or had a strong connection to the Medway towns, and innovated in ways that made a difference to people’s lives. We were delighted to have Blondel Cluff CBE join our celebrations, as we thanked The National Lottery Community Fund for enabling us to mark this unique occasion with the launch of such a special project. After the difficulties of recent years, it was fantastic to see so many people enjoying a creative day, conversation and music together. Their enthusiasm has excited us as we begin delivering this two-year project and look forward to the ways it will bring so many sections of our community together.”

Children enjoying People and Animals UK's tea party

People and Animals UK, which have benefited from almost £50,000 of National Lottery funding, hosted an afternoon tea party on Wednesday 1^st
June at its farm in Norfolk. The local community were able to get involved with grooming horses, feeding sheep and willow weaving.

Katie Bristow, Director at People and Animals UK, said: “We’ve been so lucky to get some National Lottery funding to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. We’re developing our ‘Walks to Wellbeing’ - an intergenerational project where we’re expanding the farm through walkways. We’re supporting those living with dementia, their carers and partners, by encouraging them to come along, work with our young people and adults, and really get integrated into the community by working with our animals, doing a bit of gardening, woodwork and crafting. Thank you so much to National Lottery players for giving us this opportunity to bring our community together, young and old, working together to make this a nicer place to be.”

Other events included a street party in Redbridge, London, hosted by Empowering Deaf Society which brought together the local deaf and hearing community, while in Gateshead, Dingy Butterflies provided creative activities for families, including nature walks, helping people to learn more about bees and the environment.

As part of its grant of almost £45,000, Enbarr Foundation CIC held ‘Operation Street Party’ in Flintshire, Wales, on Saturday 4^th June. The event involved the group’s volunteers taking part in wood sculptures, with the intention to create and complete a large sculpture of a crown and dragon. Gardening, arts and crafts and street games from the 1950s also took place along with live music, bringing hundreds of local people together.

Headhunters Railway Museum in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, which received £10,000 of National Lottery funding, is delivering a range of free community events across Fermanagh from Thursday 2^nd to Sunday 12^th June. This includes a beacon lighting ceremony, a family fun day with an Armed Forces display, a Big Jubilee Lunch and an exhibition entitled ‘Our Coronation Story’, which is showcasing unique garments from the coronation ceremony, souvenirs, memories from local people, and the outfit worn by Her Majesty The Queen when she visited Northern Ireland in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee.

In Scotland, a Mad Hatters Jubilee tea party on Sunday 5^th June kicked off the start of a project by The Glencorse Community Association. Based in Midlothian, it received over £49,000 to turn a derelict area into a ‘Queen’s Jubilee Legacy Tea Garden’ from which it will deliver a range of educational workshops around local wildlife, growing produce and carbon reduction. This garden will also include a natural play space for children, a child-safe wildlife pond and a chill out zone for people with additional sensory needs.

A key part of the Platinum Jubilee weekend was The Big Jubilee Lunch, supported by £2.3 million of National Lottery funding. This Jubilee-focused version of the annual Big Lunch event brought millions of people together, helping communities across the UK to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

One of these Big Jubilee Lunches took place at The Oval in London on Sunday 5^th June, where Blondel Cluff CBE and the Chief Executive of The National Lottery Community Fund, David Knott joined The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, alongside inspiring volunteers who have made a great difference in their communities.

Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “It was fantastic to share this moment in honour of the Platinum Jubilee with so many communities and National Lottery-funded groups. Our ambition with our Platinum Jubilee funding was to not only celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of loyal service, but to help build a legacy from this momentous occasion for communities across the UK. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated community groups and the support of National Lottery players we have been able to demonstrate the power of community spirit across the nation on which, I trust, we shall now build a tremendous legacy.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million** each week for good causes across the UK.

Grants of up to £10,000 from The National Lottery Awards for All programme – which gives out almost £80 million of National Lottery funding in all parts of the UK each year - are still available for community-led events throughout 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee year.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 10 June, 2022
Region: UK-wide

Notes to Editors

* Research conducted on behalf of The National Lottery Community Fund by Savanta ComRes between 7 and 22 September, 2021, amongst 8,059 UK adults weighted to be representative of UK adults by gender, age, social grade, ethnicity, and region. Read more about the Community Research Index.

** Based on 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2021

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focused on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach net zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.

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