The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is set to be celebrated in Guangzhou, as locals and British nationals alike join together to celebrate ‘British Day’ on June 2nd.

Every year Guangzhou celebrates the Queen through international royal events, and this year’s will be a celebration of UK identity, diversity and culture.

Alastair Morgan is looking forward to British Day in Guangzhou. Picture by Tian Chuang

British Consul – General, Alastair Morgan, is looking forward to the forthcoming celebration of ‘British Day’. He said: “It should be a great day for families and young people; a chance for the community to get together.”

The British School of Guangzhou is set to provide the venue for events taking place on the day; including a bouncy castle for children, classic British food and drink and English beer for both the UK community in the city and also those who are interested in learning about British culture.

A Beatles tribute band has also been arranged for the Guangzhou community to dive into the traditional UK music scene.

The day is set to be a vibrant occasion of food, drink and celebration to be enjoyed by all members of the Guangzhou community.

With Guangzhou being a city of business innovation, a number of local businesses have been asked to support the event by the British Consul – General to entice more people to the city and to encourage them to get involved with the annual celebration of the Royal Family.

A campaign has also been set up by the British Consulate in the build up to the Olympics alongside a number of cultural events run by the British Council.

The Royal Family, especially the Queen, are well known and respected across China, and celebrations of this kind are still relevant to some locals despite their differences in culture and distance from the UK.

Mr Morgan continued:“The Queen is the head of state and the Chinese leaders will respect the head of state. The Queen actually visited Guangzhou in the 1980s and I think that was probably her last visit to China.

“Last year at the Royal Wedding party we held, we invited a lot of Chinese people from different provinces and businesses, and I can tell you – people liked it! There is real interest. The broadcast across China showed how much interest there was and I think this will be the same for the Jubilee.”

With the success of last year’s Royal Wedding celebrations throughout southern China, Guangzhou’s British Day on June 2nd is sure to be well received by local and British communities.

By Hannah Breeze and Faye Grima