To mark 60 years of the Queen’s reign, a series of events are being planned to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and this year will become the second monarch in British history to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee, the first being Queen Victoria – who had strong links with the Island through Osborne House.

Diamond Jubilee events will focus around an extended weekend in early June. The late May bank holiday will be moved to Monday 4 June and an additional Jubilee bank holiday will take place on Tuesday 5 June.

Nationally, Buckingham Palace is co-ordinating a programme of events including a Big Jubilee Lunch, Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames, a concert at Buckingham Palace and the lighting of 2,012 beacons around the UK – including the Isle of Wight. There will also be a series of exhibitions around the country. More details can be found in the national events and news pages on this site.

Here on the Island, a number of events are being planned to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee including the lighting of beacons – a long and unbroken tradition in our country for celebrating royal weddings, jubilees and coronations. There will also be a church service at Newport Minster on Monday 28 May 2012, fireworks displays, sailing events and exhibitions.

The main jubilee event will take place at Appley Park in Ryde from Saturday 2 June to Monday 4 June, although many smaller events will be taking place around the Island. Details of these can be found here.

Local communities are encouraged to get together and enjoy street parties or community events. Information about how to organise events can be found on this website along with links to useful websites.