London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 20, 2026

Big screen thrills for coronation partygoers celebrating in the park

Big screen thrills for coronation partygoers celebrating in the park

Details of plans to mark the Coronation in London have been revealed
Up to 100,000 are expected to head to Hyde Park to mark the King’s coronation, event organisers have revealed.

Preparations are also being made for thousands of people to line the procession route along The Mall to watch Charles and Camilla travel between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

The numbers drawn to central London are expected to exceed the thousands who attended the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations last June.

Organisers are planning for 50,000 people to watch the coronation on Saturday May 6 on giant screens erected on either side of the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park.

A similar number is expected to party in the park the following evening when the Coronation Concert — rumoured to feature Sir Paul McCartney, Take That and Lionel Richie — will be beamed live from Windsor Castle.

Green Park and St James’s Park are expected to be extremely crowded on coronation day. Screens will be erected in both royal parks and on Horse Guards Parade for those unable to catch a glimpse of the military procession.

Westminster council’s licensing committee approved the plans yesterday after the Government’s chief organiser Jon Martin, from the Department of Culture, told councillors: “This is truly an exceptional application and, for once, that is no exaggeration.”

Latest details to emerge include an RAF flypast — for the newly-crowned King’s appearance on the palace balcony with the royal family — and widespread road closures in central London during the bank holiday weekend, making it “challenging” for residents to get around. Transport for London is due to publish travel advice next week.

The plans include late-night food and drink stalls in Green Park and St James’s Park, offering tea, coffee and bacon sandwiches, to cater for those who arrive on Friday night and camp out to secure a prime position.

No alcohol will be on sale at this point. “It’s quite literally a welfare provision,” Mr Martin told the committee. “I cannot say how many people will come in the late hours. I suspect in the early morning there will be quite some numbers.”

However there will be stalls selling Pimm’s and gin from 10am until 10pm on Saturday and from 4pm to 10pm on Sunday, including in Hyde Park. Ice cream and churros will also be available.

A “very significant police presence”, to ensure security along the route, would be on hand in the event of any drunkenness, Mr Martin said.

The BBC will start its live coverage at 7.30am on Saturday. The RAF flypast is expected at around 2.45pm.

Hyde Park will not be ticketed. Grandstands near Buckingham Palace and Admiralty Arch will be reserved for military veterans, cadets and key workers.

The Coronation Concert will feature “music icons and contemporary stars”, starting at 8.30pm and running for 90 minutes. It will have a live audience of 20,000 — half of which are Britons who won free tickets in a ballot.

The other tickets have been given to charities supported by Charles and Camilla. The concert will feature the Countess of Wessex String Orchestra and the Bands of the Household Division.

According to the BBC, they will play interpretations of “musical favourites… fronted by some of the biggest entertainers from the worlds of pop, opera, and soul music”.

The concert will also feature the Coronation Choir, created from community choirs and amateur singers.

The centrepiece will be a section called Lighting up the Nation, when landmark locations are lit using projections, lasers and drone displays. Identity, the firm that organised London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks and the Pride parade, will manage the event.

Westminster’s licensing committee chairwoman Iman Less said: “These are not only extraordinary events but an important moment in history.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
UK Explores Joining Canada-Led Global Defence Bank
Thirlwall Inquiry Highlights Management Failures Surrounding Lucy Letby Crimes
Parliamentary Committee Calls for New UK Law to Address AI Risks to Human Rights
UK Considers Giving Regional Mayors Greater Oversight of Water Companies
UK Opposition Presses Burnham for Stronger Response to Russian Security Threats
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over £72 Million in Donations as Political Finance Rules Tighten
Millisecond Software Failure Behind UK Air-Traffic Outage That Cancelled More Than 2,000 Flights
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Energy Prices Complicate Inflation Outlook
Burnham Warns of Difficult Choices in October Budget as UK Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20.5 Million Non-Domicile Tax Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Heavy Losses After Collapse
Thirteenth Metropolitan Police Officer Dismissed Over Charing Cross Conduct
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
NHS Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Women With Incurable Breast Cancer
Software Defect Blamed for Major UK Air Traffic Disruption
×