The Tower of London will be surrounded by a “Superbloom” display of flowers featuring a giant slide in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this summer.
The Queen, who is currently recovering from a mild case of coronavirus, marked 70 years on the throne this February – the first monarch in British history to reach the milestone.
She will commemorate the occasion with a long weekend of festivities in June. The four-day spectacle is set to include a Platinum Jubilee Pageant through London, a party at Buckingham Palace and the Queen’s birthday parade, Trooping the Colour.
Separately, Buckingham Palace has released a limited-edition sparkling wine in honour of the monarch, while Royal Mail has issued eight new stamps to celebrate Her Majesty’s service to the nation.
The Historical Royal Palaces has announced that this spring it will plant 20 million seeds in the Tower of London’s moat, with the aim of creating the appearance of a sea of flowers surrounding the landmark.
The project, which hopes to increase the biodiversity of the area and attract bees, pollinators and seed-eating birds, will be the first stage of a permanent transformation of the moat into a new natural landscape, the charity said.
To add an element of fun, visitors to the attraction will be able to enter the moat via a large slide which was originally commissioned by the National Trust for use at Cliveden House.
The slide will have four lanes, and people will be able to travel down it on mats. However, it won’t be the only route into the moat and a second entrance will be available for those who don’t wish to use the slide.
“We want to give visitors to Superbloom the chance to arrive in the flowers with a sense of occasion and fun - and what better way to do that than entering the Tower of London’s moat via a huge slide?” Tom O’Leary, director of public engagement at Historic Royal Palaces, said.
“As well as creating a unique way in – which we hope will be a big hit with families – we’re lucky enough to have been able to recycle an existing slide, enabling us to do this in a sustainable way.”
Nigel Dunnett, a professor of planting design and urban horticulture at the University of Sheffield who worked on the project, said experts had carried out trials to ensure that the Superbloom is appropriate for pollinating insects as well as a “beautiful impressionistic blend of colours”.
“We hope that the effect of being surrounded by a sea of colourful, sparkling and vibrant flowers will release feelings of pure liberated joy in visitors to the Superbloom – it will be such a powerful, emotional and celebratory experience,” he said.
The Superbloom will be seeded in March and will be open to visitors from June.
