As the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs, I am delighted to share the Government's plans to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort.
The Coronation “Big Lunch”
The Coronation “Big Lunch” invites neighbours and communities across the United Kingdom to come together to share food and fun on Sunday 7th May 2023, in a nationwide act of celebration and friendship. Tens of thousands of Coronation Big Lunches are expected to take place in every corner of the United Kingdom this May. Please consider how communities in your constituency can get involved. Free downloadable resources will also become available online at www.coronationbiglunch.com to help people and organisations get started with planning.
The “Big Help Out”
The “Big Help Out” will take place on Monday 8th May, an additional bank holiday to mark the Coronation, across the UK. In tribute to His Majesty The King’s lifetime of public service, the Big Help Out will encourage people to try volunteering for themselves, highlighting the positive impact volunteering has on communities and good causes across the nation. Please consider supporting this initiative in your constituency on your social media channels and by encouraging local businesses, charities, community organisations and individuals to get behind it. The website, www.thebighelpout.org.uk, will be regularly updated with ways to get involved.
Coronation Concert
A spectacular Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle will showcase our diverse cultural heritage and see iconic locations across the UK lit up with projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations - “Lighting up the Nation”. In addition to the public ballot, which has allocated tickets on a geographical basis to ensure that people from every region of the United Kingdom are able to attend the concert in Windsor, representatives from charities, youth and community groups from across the country will also be invited and the concert will be shown on screens around the country, making it a truly national event.
National Lottery funding
National Lottery funding for local community projects in every part of the United Kingdom to celebrate the Coronation will be available from a range of sources, that you can point organisations in your constituency to. Some examples of the funding is below and other lottery distributors have details on their websites.
- Funding from the National Lottery Community Fund is available of up to £10,000 for events and activities across the UK through the National Lottery Awards for All programme. Applications made now will provide funding for events to take place throughout the summer following the Coronation weekend. Funding criteria and terms and conditions are here: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/under10k
- The National Lottery Heritage Fund will celebrate the Coronation by expanding its UKwide “New to Nature” partnership programme. Working with Groundwork UK and The Princes Trust, funding will provide new opportunities for young people to engage with heritage and get involved with the natural environment and landscapes. The National Lottery Heritage Fund will create traineeships for young people from diverse and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to begin new careers in environmental organisations.
Schools Competition
On behalf of His Majesty’s Government, the Ideas Foundation is inviting schools and colleges across the United Kingdom to take part in a challenge to create poster designs in celebration of the Coronation themes of community, diversity, sustainability and youth -
#coronationgeneration. The Ideas Foundation is running a national challenge to select entries for display on digital advertising sites around the UK, with the potential to be viewed by thousands of people every day. I would invite all MPs to encourage schools and colleges in their constituencies to take part and there is also the opportunity for MPs to run a local challenge. The Ideas Foundation will send you a personalised digital toolkit with all the resources needed to run a local challenge, including all the entries from your constituency as well as ideas on selecting and displaying selected entries. Toolkits can be requested by emailing [email protected] and more information is available at http://coronationgeneration.org/
