PRESS RELEASE
Monday 12th March 2012
From sunrise to sunset, communities around the Commonwealth will come together
for Big Jubilee Lunches on Sunday 3rd June
Commonwealth Day (12 March): Around the Commonwealth and the rest of the world, and
across all time zones, communities will be celebrating the Diamond Jubilee with a Big Jubilee
Lunch (BJL) on Sunday 3rd June. The BJL is part of the celebrations for The Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee, as announced by Buckingham Palace, and encourages people to come together to share
lunch with neighbours, friends and family. Its organisers have been inundated with hundreds of
requests for packs from across the Commonwealth and beyond.
From Coober Pedy in Australia and Durban in South Africa to Seremban in Malaysia and
Chandigarh in India, people across the Commonwealth will be breaking out the bunting and
holding lunches to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Christian groups in Auckland, Girl
Guides in Canada, care homes in Australia and cultural and heritage associations in South Africa
will all be sitting down to a Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday 3rd June to celebrate The Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee.
The Canadian High Commission is holding a Big Jubilee Lunch at historic Canada House on
Trafalgar Square for Canadians who are living in the UK or just visiting London.
"I’m very much looking forward to celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with fellow
Canadians over a Big Jubilee Lunch in Canada House,” said the High Commissioner of Canada to
the United Kingdom, Gordon Campbell.
“Canadians have such a special relationship with the Royal Family, and Her Majesty in
particular, and not just because we're proud members of the Commonwealth, but because of the
many ways the Queen and her family have touched our lives.”
Canadian Sharon Jackson will be working with a local community organisation, Cowichan Green
Community, Vancouver Island, to host a lunch.
“There should be more reasons for our communities to come together to celebrate. Her Majesty
is a spectacular example of constant service and devotion to all her communities and we should
endeavour to follow her example in our own,” she says.
Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Director of the Royal Commonwealth Society comments, “The Big
Jubilee Lunch is a wonderful opportunity not just to strengthen local communities but also to
celebrate the fabulous global community that is the Commonwealth. From Tuvalu to Grenada,
these lunches will show off the shared values, cultural connections and sense of fun that underlie
the modern Commonwealth.”
And beyond the Commonwealth lunches are being planned from the British International School
Pudong Campus in Shanghai to an expat community BBQ in the Historic Fort San Lorenzo in the
Republic of Panama and the International School in Ankara in Turkey.
“It’s fantastic to think that from sunrise to sunset on 3rd June people across the world will be
sitting down with their neighbours to have a Big Jubilee Lunch. Bearing in mind America’s
fascination with the monarchy, we already have communities from 32 of the 50 US states
planning lunches. We aim to have lunches happening in all 50 by 3rd June!” said Peter Stewart,
The Big Jubilee Lunch Director.
ENDS
Note to Editors:
1. The BJL is run by the Eden Project, a UK Social Enterprise and Charity. Since starting in
2009, thousands of Big Lunches have taken place in all kinds of communities, and in 2011
the number of participants doubled to the best part of two million. This year, a record
number of people across the UK are expected to participate.
2. The BJL has received a message of support from The Queen. In addition, more than 50 of
the UK’s largest community groups, membership organisations and charities are supporting
the BJL, including the Scout Association, Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland,
Neighbourhood Watch and Age UK.
3. Big Lunch participants are also being invited to take part in the Royal Commonwealth
Society’s Jubilee Time Capsule project - a unique social archive of the 60 year reign of
The Queen.
4. The Big Jubilee Lunch is led by the Eden Project and made possible thanks to funders Big
Lottery Fund and partners MasterCard, EDF Energy and Kingsmill.
5. For further information visit http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/big-jubilee-lunch and
www.thebiglunch.com
For further information, please contact The Big Jubilee Lunch Press Office:
Sasha Martin: 07980 685030 / sashamartin@golleyslater.co.uk
Helen Smith: 07875 586725 / hsmith@golleyslater.co.uk