In celebration of the King’s Coronation weekend between Saturday 6th and Monday 8th May, many festivities are taking place across the country as well as here in Darlington.

On Saturday 6th May, His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort are due to be coronated at Westminster Abbey, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. There will also be an extra bank holiday to celebrate on Monday 8th May.

On Saturday, the Coronation will take place and Their Majesties will proceed to Buckingham Palace in ‘The Coronation Procession’. On Sunday, ‘Coronation Big Lunches’ are taking place up and down the country to celebrate the occasion. In addition, there will be a Coronation Concert, staged and broadcast by the BBC. Finally, Monday will see ‘The Big Help Out’, which will highlight the positive impacts of volunteering and encourage people to try volunteering out for themselves.

More locally, people are being invited to join in at Coronation Big Lunches on Sunday 7th May. You can find out if there is already one happening on your street or, if there isn’t, you can set one up by following the instructions on the Darlington Council website.

Preparations are also currently underway for events in the town centre. Festivities are going to last through the entire weekend, so there’s something for everyone. In the Market Place, there will be a big screen streaming both the Coronation ceremony live from Westminster and the Coronation Concert the day after. As well as watching the celebrations in London, families can take part in their own here through free sustainable activities such as crown decorating and flower making. Budding bakers and professional chefs alike can also take part in the Darlington Coronation Bake Off (judged by three local food experts), provided they first register on the Enjoy Darlington website.

However you want to celebrate the Coronation, be sure to check the Darlington Council and Government websites for ideas.