An extra bank holiday has been planned for 2022 to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

The UK will get an extra bank holiday in 2022 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has announced.

The Queen will reach 70 years as Monarch in 2022, with a long weekend of celebrations planned to mark the occasion.

Four day bank holiday weekend

The Queen’s 70 year long reign will be marked with a four day bank holiday weekend. A large programme of public events is planned, which will “mix traditional pageantry with cutting edge technological displays.”

Although Her Majesty will have reigned for 70 years on 6 February 2022, celebrations are planned to take place from 2 to 5 June 2022.

As a result, the late May spring bank holiday - which is due to land on Monday 30 May 2022 - will be moved to Thursday 2 June, with an additional bank holiday declared for Friday 3 June.

The Queen has reigned since 1952, and the Platinum Jubilee will be the first time any British monarch has reached this historic milestone.

What events will take place to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee?

“Spectacular moments” will be planned in London and other major cities, alongside events in communities across the UK and the Commonwealth.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport says, “Plans for the Platinum Jubilee are being developed in conjunction with some of the UK’s leading creative minds, event organisers and world class digital design companies.

“Using the talents of the UK’s cultural and creative sectors, the programme will engage young people from across the Commonwealth and use new technology in exciting ways.”

The commemorations are being arranged jointly with The Royal Household and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with further details of events and how the public can get involved, to be released in the upcoming months.

A Platinum Jubilee medal will also be awarded to people who work in public service, including representatives of the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the prison services.

This will be in keeping with a tradition which dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria, which saw an official medal designed to mark her 50th anniversary on the throne.

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said, “Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee will be a truly historic moment - and one that deserves a celebration to remember.

“We can all look forward to a special, four-day Jubilee weekend, when we will put on a spectacular, once-in-a-generation show that mixes the best of British ceremonial splendour with cutting edge art and technology. It will bring the entire nation and the Commonwealth together in a fitting tribute to Her Majesty’s reign.”