Queen Elizabeth`s 60th anniversary party gets under way
Baku, June 2 (AZERTAC). Queen Elizabeth gets four days of celebrations to mark her 60 years on the British throne under way on Saturday with one of her favourite pastimes, a trip to the horse races, as tributes to the long-serving monarch pour in. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on London over the next few days for Diamond Jubilee festivities, with millions attending street parties across the country as the nation marks the queen`s personal milestone.
"The queen has given incredible service," British Prime Minister David Cameron said. "She`s never put a foot wrong, she`s hugely popular and respected here and around the world and it`s an opportunity for people to give thanks and to say thank you for the incredible service that she`s given."
The four days of celebrations begin on a fairly low-key note when the queen indulges her long love of horses by attending the Epsom Derby, one of the biggest events in the British horse racing calendar. On Sunday, there will be a flotilla of 1,000 boats assembled from around the globe travelling 25 miles along the River Thames featuring the queen and her 90-year-old husband Prince Philip on a royal barge, in the largest such pageant for 350 years. Thousands of street parties are also planned across Britain, including one on Downing Street outside Cameron`s office, as part of a "Big Jubilee Lunch". The queen`s London residence Buckingham Palace will play host to a pop concert on Monday featuring the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John, before a network of 4,200 beacons will also be lit across Britain with more set alight around the Commonwealth. The celebrations culminate on Tuesday with a memorial service at St Paul`s Cathedral, a carriage procession through central London and flypast by present and former royal air force aircraft.
Huge crowds are expected for the events with estimates that about a million people will travel to London on Sunday alone. Not all will be cheering for the queen with banner-waving republicans staging a protest at Tower Bridge during the Thames flotilla. Police said the weekend would include the largest royal security operation ever conducted. Some 13,000 officials including about 6,000 police officers will be on duty for the Thames pageant, which poses challenges never before encountered.
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