Gearing up for the River Pageant

News unfolding about the Jubilee Pageant, which is just over three week's away, shows what a once-in-a-lifetime event it is going to be. Places at the Club event have now sold out and there is a waiting list, but don't despair, there are plenty of ways of being involved or participating in this historic event.

Battersea Park will be a hub of activity with the Diamond Jubilee Festival. Tickets are just £5 each, to cover admininstrative costs, and is billed as "an immersive world of eccentric British culture, celebrating the 60 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II". There will be music, a sing-a-long pop-up pub, chefs, bakers, tea, dancing... Tickets can be bought from Ticketmaster.

Go to the river pageant website to find out more about the festival.

If you fancy getting on the river itself, there are still spaces in some of the passenger vessels participating in the pageant. The list of passenger vessels is here.

And along the route there will be giant screens and viewing platforms to enable as many people as possible to enjoy the day. Have a look at the route map here and bookmark the River Pageant News pages where you will find more information about viewing platforms and giant screen sites.

Help get boats in and out of the water

If you want a more hands-on approach to the River Pageant, there has been a call for volunteers who can help launch and disembark boats on Saturday 2 June and Sunday 3 June. Help is still needed at Mortlake and Anglian on the Saturday where quite a few boats are arriving by tow and need to be stored overnight. On Sunday 3 June at the end of the pageant, the organisers need help at Millwall Slip with disembarkation annd stowage. To volunteer contact Helen Wilding h.wilding@thamesfestival.org by 12 May.

Event information

A full list with details of bridge and road closures will be published on 17 May. This will include an interactive map detailing locatiions of toilets, disabled access areas, large viewing screens and more.

The formal river procession will be between 1400 and 1800, starting upriver of Battersea Bridge and finishing downriver of Tower Bridge. The route is approximately 7 miles long.

Road closures will commence from 0700, with some bridges being closed to road traffic from that time until early evening. The organisers strongly advise using public transport. For more information on bus diversions and transport visit www.tfl.gov.uk