Richmond Park ready for Queen's jubilee visit (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Richmond Park ready for Queen's jubilee visit

1:22pm Monday 14th May 2012 in News By Rachel Bishop

Get your union flags at the ready for the Queen’s visit to Richmond Park tomorrow.

Her Majesty will visit the royal park on Tuesday, May 15, as part of her diamond jubilee tour of the UK, where a new festival, Wild London, has been arranged for her enjoyment.

This momentous event will be her first official visit to the borough in 23 years, and the Queen will be accompanied by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

Wild London will pay tribute to the Queen’s six decades on the throne and celebrate both London’s natural environment and the important role the borough’s parks and gardens play in bringing people closer to nature. The event will feature hands-on exhibits, demonstrations, public displays and dance and music performances from environmental organisations, community groups and schools.

There will also be a specially-commissioned performance from the Royal Ballet School –based in Richmond Park. Leader of the council Lord True said: “We are all greatly honoured that Richmond is one of only a handful of London boroughs the Queen will visit to mark the diamond jubilee.

“It promises to be a momentous day. It will be an opportunity for the community to show their appreciation to the Queen and to share in the celebrations and commemorate her extraordinary reign.”

The Queen will be arriving at Richmond Park’s Sheen gate in the early afternoon, but the public event will be held on the sports pitches between the Sheen Gate and the Roehampton Gate from 11am.

Linda Lennon CBE, chief executive of the Royal Parks, said: “It is going to be a wonderful family event, full of exciting and varied attractions.”

Wild London will have three distinct zones. Each zone will showcase a different aspect of the capital’s woodlands, parks and gardens. The zones are the conservation zone, the recreation zone and the inspiration zone.

For more information, visit richmond.gov.uk/diamond_jubilee.