The Queen’s platinum jubilee is upon us, with a four-day bank holiday weekend of festivities set to begin on Thursday.
The public holiday is in celebration of the monarch’s historic reign as she marks 70 years on the throne.
Events organised by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Buckingham Palace include the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Thursday and a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.
Buckingham Palace will also host the Party at the Palace on Saturday, and a Platinum Jubilee Pageant has been planned for Sunday.
Separately, members of the public have organised their own celebrations up and down the country, including more than 16,000 street parties.
The official events will also see performances from celebrities including Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Craig David and Sir Elton John.
Given the extravagance of the celebrations, they will come with a hefty price tag. Here’s everything we know about how much the platinum jubilee is costing.
How much money has the government set aside?
In his March 2021 Budget, Chancellor Rish Sunak announced that £28 million is being set aside to fund the jubilee celebrations.
What other funding is being used?
The National Lottery has set up a platinum jubilee fund, which is making more than £22 million available to help communities across England celebrate.
The fund is providing grants of up to £50,000 to 70 community projects up and down the UK.
Additionally, Arts Council England has a Create Jubilee Fund which is supporting voluntary and community organisations in England to ensure creative and cultural activities are given centre stage during the bank holiday weekend.
The fund has been issuing grants of up to £10,000.
Separately, the council announced £175,000 to help public libraries celebrate.
Sport England created the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund from a pot of £5 million National Lottery money. Grants from £300 to £10,000 are being issued for initiatives which are “bringing a community together and tackling inequalities”.
