Wayne Hemingway: Put your funny mugs in my royal show

 
23 April 2012

Designer Wayne Hemingway today called on Londoners to dig out their quirky royal memorabilia for a tongue-in-cheek exhibition to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Hemingway is jointly curating a festival for 50,000 people in Battersea Park on June 3 that will also offer some of the best views of the river pageant.

He wants the “celebration of Britishness” to encompass the six decades of the Queen’s reign and reflect the nation’s sense of humour as well as its music, culture, fashion and food.

The Noisettes will headline six pop concerts, each representing a different decade, while a portrait of the Queen made from 3,120 cakes will be one of the culinary highlights.

A three-week exhibition showing how Britons have celebrated the Queen’s reign will be held in the park’s Pump House, and Hemingway, a collector of memorabilia himself, appealed for quirky donations — from coronation mugs and tea towels to “soap with the Queen’s face on it”.

“A false tooth from a member of the royal family would be a favourite,” he joked. “It will reinforce the British sense of fun. We are the most creative nation. One thing we are not in Britain is a nation of battery hens. We are much more free range.”

The festival, which will run from noon to 7pm, will include 1952-themed food and drink, tea dances, a giant car-boot sale selling royal memorabilia and an attempt to get 1,000 people to play God Save The Queen on kazoos.

Visitors will be encouraged to dress up as the Queen or in 1952-style clothes, with “best in show” rosettes being awarded. The main stage will be created in the shape of a giant crown.

A “pop-up” pub named the Diamond Geezer will have a band playing Sex Pistols covers, alongside Elton John, Shirley Bassey and Chas ’n‘ Dave tribute acts.

Five giant screens will beam pictures of the 1,000-boat pageant after it passes the park at about 2pm. “We want people to go there and have a bloody good day out,” Mr Hemingway said.

Tickets can be purchased from ticketmaster.co.uk. Children under 12 go free. More information at thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org

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