Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Reach Record Levels in the UK (Video)

As the diamond jubilee for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, approaches, the planned celebrations that will take place in Britain over the long weekend (June 2nd through June 5th) have reached record-breaking levels. The bank holiday weekend, which culminates in a spectacular Concert at Buckingham Palace on the evening of Tuesday, June 5th, has resulted in over 9,500 road closure applications granted for street fairs in England and Wales alone. This is 4,000 more than for the wildly celebrated wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last April. Street fairs originated as "Peace Teas" in 1919 after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and are now a fixture of traditional British celebration. Tens of thousands of local events are planned across the Commonwealth of Nations, and Flick Rea of the Local Government Association told The Guardian, "The scale of national celebration looks set to be unlike anything we've experienced for decades." Indeed, the expression of national pride anticipated from the UK next weekend is likely to be even greater than what was previously expected.

Britain's Big Lunch initiative, a charitable drive to bring families and communities together, has taken advantage of the diamond jubilee in grand fashion, and 1950s themed "trestle table teas" will dot the Commonwealth throughout the holiday weekend. Fancy dress picnics and fireworks parties are expected, along with less traditional events such as frozen-sausage tossing in Blyth, Northumberland, ping-pong ball racing in Denbighshire, and kilt racing in Perth. The Royal Family will ride on a barge on the River Thames on Sunday, June 3rd as part of a 1,000 boat flotilla that is likely to be "one of the most spectacular nautical events seen in London for over 350 years," according to The Telegraph. The Windsors will be accompanied on the flotilla by the Middletons, the family of the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton).

This is probably a nod to the very conveniently timed increased popularity of the Royal family, which is largely due to the Cambridges' marriage and the likeability of the Duchess herself. The Royals have much reason to be thankful for this, as this giant wave of popularity coincides not only with the jubilee celebrations but with the upcoming London 2012 Olympic summer games.

As the Duke of Cambridge, also known as Prince William of Wales, and his wife are largely considered to be the most popular Royals next to the Queen herself, it has been reported that they have been receiving anti-kidnapping training from the Special Air Service (SAS) in anticipation of both the jubilee and the Olympics. This is a wise move in a post-9/11 world, and with tensions still remaining between the British government and the IRA. Prince William's aunt Anne, the Princess Royal, survived a 1974 kidnapping attempt by a deranged man who wanted to hold her for ransom. The Cambridges are reported to have taken the training in their stride, and it is likely that the jubilee celebrations are carefully produced to within an inch of life as with all Royal occasions, so they will probably go off without a hitch and be a great celebration for the UK and her allies—but it's always better to be safe.

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