Agenda item

The City Solicitor submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report

1.1             The purpose of this report is to:

                                            i     outline a proposed programme of events to be organised by Council to mark HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee; and

                                          ii     consider a request for funding for events to be organised by local communities across the city which was included in the Motion referred to the Committee following the July 2021 Council meeting.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is requested to:

                                            i     approve the proposed programme of events to be organised by the Council over the bank holiday weekend of Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June 2022, inclusive;

                                          ii     approve costs in the region of £35,000- £40,000 to deliver this programme; and

                                         iii     agree funding of £50,000-£100,000 for events to take place in local communities across the city over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.  This fund will be administered by the Community Foundation NI, with a maximum of £1,000 for any group.

3.0       Main Report

            Background

3.1       Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend will take place from Thursday 2nd June to Sunday 5th June, inclusive.  Members may wish to note that the May Bank Holiday weekend at the end of that month will be moved to Thursday 2nd June and that an additional bank holiday will be held on Friday 3rd June, culminating in a four-day weekend.

3.2       There will be a number of main themes to mark the Platinum Jubilee, including a focus on community, inter-generational activity and new communities.  A specially designed Jubilee emblem in purple has been selected from entries to be used for official events and across digital and social media. 

            Proposed Programme of Events

            Thursday 2nd June

3.3       Belfast City Council has been invited to join other local authorities, amongst others, in lighting a Jubilee Beacon.  The Spring Market will be held in the grounds of City Hall during the Platinum Jubilee weekend and, therefore, an alternative location will be identified if the lighting of a beacon is approved.

            Friday 3rd June

3.4       Themed Tea Dances will be held in City Hall during the afternoon and one retro dance in the evening, reviving styles and fashion of the time.

            Saturday 4th June

3.5       Create a programme entitled ‘Belfast 1952’ and transform the venue at 2 Royal Avenue into Belfast of the 1950’s. This event will showcase some of city’s best local talent through photography, film, fashion, songs, and storytelling by taking a creative look at how lives were lived during that period. The programme of activities will include:

·        Tales of the city – inter-generational workshops and story-telling events related to families growing up in Belfast in the 1950’s. The café menu will be adapted and take on a 1950’s theme;

·        Songs of the city - Workshops and performances on music in the 1950’s;

·        Photography Exhibition of the city in the 1950’s; and

·        A film reel telling the story of the city from 1950’s through to the present day.

            Sunday 5th June

3.6       Host a Big Community Lunch, which is a key element of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, with a focus on encouraging celebration of connections to bring the Jubilee into the heart of local communities.  A Big Community Lunch could be hosted at City Hall with the guest list focussing on the main themes whilst encouraging communities in the city who wish to join in by holding their own events.

            Illumination of City Hall in purple, as the chosen colour for the Jubilee emblem and programme of activities, bringing the weekend to a close.

            Members are also advised that a service to mark HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be held in St Anne’s Cathedral on Sunday, 5 June at 3.30 p.m.

            Equality and Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Assessment

3.7       All events will take equality and good relations implications into account.

            Financial and Resource Implications

3.8       The cost of delivering the council’s programme of events is estimated between £35,000-£40,000 and will be met from the existing civic hospitality budget if approved.

            An additional budget of up to £100,000 would be required to fund events to take place in local communities across the City.”

After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendations, subject to the maximum amount to be made available to the groups referred to in point iii. being increased to £2,000.