A FOUR-DAY bank holiday weekend next year is a highlight of events announced by Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's platinum jubilee next year as the monarch marks 70 years on the throne.
The 2022 summer break will run from Thursday (June 2) until Sunday (June 5), with the late May bank holiday moving to June 2 to allow the extended break.
There will be a host of national-level celebrations, including a live concert at Buckingham Palace featuring some of the world's biggest stars, a service of thanksgiving, and the Queen’s own highlight, a day at the races.
The events will mark the Queen's 70-year reign, a milestone she will have reached on February 6 next year though the first week in June has been chosen as the celebratory weekend due to better chances of good weather than in February.
Members of the royal family including the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other members of the monarchy will attend various events, though individual members of the royal family have yet to be named in the plans.
The weekend will begin on Thursday with trooping the colour, which will be staged in full for the first time since the pandemic, with more than 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians expected to be in attendance.
Platinum jubilee beacons will also be lit throughout the UK, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK overseas territories, a tradition used to celebrate royal jubilees, weddings and coronations, with ceremonial bonfires planned to set ablaze in each of the capital cities of the Commonwealth countries for the first time.
A service of thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on the second day, followed by the live concert at the palace on Saturday, when the queen will be joined by members of the Royal Family at the Derby.
On the final day of the break, there will be Big Jubilee Lunch with street parties held across the country. That day's events will also include the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which will feature 5,000 people from the UK and the Commonwealth performing around the area of Buckingham Palace.
In keeping with tradition, a platinum jubilee medal will be awarded to people in public service, including representatives of the armed forces, the emergency services and the prison services. There will also be year-long Platinum Jubilee celebrations throughout the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world, the palace said.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)