UK Pubs May Stay Open Two Hours Longer To ‘Raise a Glass to Toast’ Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022

UK ministers have promised "ceremonial splendour" to mark Queen Elizabeth II's "unprecedented" 70-year reign in June 2022. The monarch herself expressed wishes in her Christmas Day message to the nation that her Platinum Jubilee would be "an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness”.

UK pubs, clubs and bars may stay open two hours longer from 2-4 June 2022 as part of plans for “blockbuster” celebrations timed to Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

The UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has unveiled the government’s plans to extend licensing hours from the usual 11pm to 1am for three days over the Bank Holiday weekend next June to allow people to "raise a glass to toast Her Majesty the Queen and mark her incredible service to our country", reported UK media.

“Her Majesty the Queen is an example to us all – she has served the UK and the Commonwealth with the utmost dignity, steadfastness and resolve throughout her remarkable reign. The Platinum Jubilee is a truly historic occasion, and it is right that the country should mark this celebration in a special way,” said Patel.

In line with Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Home Secretary will seek permission from Parliament to allow the afore-mentioned premises to stay open longer to “mark occasions of exceptional significance.”

The plans will be subject to a month-long public consultation, with the government considering any issues that might be raised by police, licensing authorities, alcohol awareness groups and other “stakeholders.”

After-work drinkers enjoy a pint outside a pub in Borough Market, in London on September 25, 2020, as new earlier closing times for pubs and bars in England and Wales are introduced to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

© AFP 2023 / TOLGA AKMEN

Previously, the government extended licensing hours for the Royal Wedding in 2018, the Queen’s 90th birthday in 2016, the FIFA World Cup in 2014, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the Royal Wedding in 2011.

The Home Office will shortly launch a public consultation on extending the licensing hours

‘Unprecedented Milestone’

In 2022 a four-day Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 will be timed to the British monarch’s 70-year reign. Queen Elizabeth II will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee on 6 February, having acceded to the throne in 1952 at the age of 25.

However, lavish celebrations on the date itself do not typically take place on the day when King George VI died. It has become traditional for associated events to be delayed until summer.

A smiling Queen Elizabeth II waves from the Irish State coach as she drives to the House of Lords to open Parliament in London on Nov. 4, 1951. This was the first time since 1886 that a queen has opened Parliament

© AP Photo / AP photo

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries hailed the upcoming Jubilee as an “unprecedented milestone in our national life.”

“2022 will be a year of pride, celebration and coming together with the Platinum Jubilee alongside our other blockbuster events including the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Unboxed, championing creativity in the UK,” said Dorries.

Throughout next year, the Queen and members of the Royal Family will undertake a variety of engagements to mark this historic occasion ahead of the culminating Platinum Jubilee Weekend in June.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands in the entrance of St Paul's Cathedral after arriving for a service of Thanksgiving to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, in London Tuesday, June 4, 2002.

© AP Photo / Stephen Hird

The panned events include the Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour), Platinum Jubilee Beacons, lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories. There will also be a service of Thanksgiving for the Queen’s reign at St Paul’s Cathedral on 3 June.

In a rare personal speech, the Queen paid tribute to her late beloved husband Prince Philip in her annual Christmas message. pic.twitter.com/XjBUAsGJzb

— The Royal Family Channel (@RoyalFamilyITNP) December 25, 2021

In her recorded Christmas Day message to the nation, Queen Elizabeth II hoped her Platinum Jubilee would afford "an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness; a chance to give thanks for the enormous changes of the last seventy years - social, scientific and cultural - and also to look ahead with confidence".