Jubilee Protest – 3 June 2012

The Thames Pageant is the key event in the Queen’s jubilee celebrations. The pageant involves 1000 boats traveling in procession down the Thames from Putney to Tower Bridge, with the Queen and other members of her family on the lead boat. More information can be found on the Thames Pageant website.

We will be staging a major protest at the Tower Bridge end of the route, where banners and placards will be displayed and speeches will be made. This is a unique opportunity to make a bold statement about our opposition to the monarchy and to promote the republican cause.

Here are the details:

Date:

3rd June 2012

Time:

12 noon til 5pm, with speeches from 1:30pm. We’ll be there from mid-morning, so come and join us if you want to make a full day of it or want to help out.

Venue:

On the south bank of the Thames, near Tower Bridge and City Hall

NB: The protest will be on the paved area, near the ‘Scoop’ and away from the park.  

 

Transport:

 

Please note that reports currently suggest all bridges on the pageant route – from Putney to Tower Bridge – will be closed for part of the day, so please plan your travel in advance and keep an eye out for travel updates. London Bridge (the bridge, rather than the station) will be open in the morning until early afternoon.

Transport for London’s website can provide detailed information about trains, underground and buses.

London Underground: nearest station is London Bridge (access via Tower Hill is likely to be restricted).
Overground trains: London Bridge is also the nearest major overground station.
Bus: See the TFL Bus Route Map for details

 

The area around the protest site has a lot of cafes, coffee shops and restaurants. The protest gets underway from 12 noon and will last the whole afternoon. More details will be sent by email and posted here over the coming weeks. Be sure you’re signed up to get updates!

The police and our protest

We have had meetings with the Metropolitan police and have explained our plans for protesting at the pageant. They have said they have no concerns regarding the protest and will be policing the whole route as a matter of course.

A bullet-point summary of the day:

  • The protest is located on the south bank of the river Thames, right next to the Mayor’s office near Tower Bridge see the map above)
  • The nearest overground and underground stations are both located at London Bridge, a short walk from the protest site
  • Tower Bridge will be closed but London Bridge itself (the bridge, not the station) will be open until late afternoon
  • We’ll be protesting from 12 noon until 5pm, possibly staying as late as 6pm
  • Speakers will be addressing the crowd throughout the afternoon
  • Speakers include author and journalist (and OBE refusenik) Joan Smith, campaigner Peter Tatchell, historian Ted Vallance, author and Independent columnist Owen Jones and more
  • The focus of the afteroon will be from 3:30 onwards, to ensure we have a large presence as the Queen’s boat arrives just after 4pm
  • We will be providing hundreds of placards, but you can also bring your own.  We have a range of placard designs to choose from on our website
  • If you would like to volunteer on the day as a steward please email sophia@republic.org.uk
  • From 6:30pm there is a pub night at the Jerusalem Tavern just up the road in Farringdon.  Tickets are £3 for members, £5 for non-members.  See the website for details.
  • We have the full cooperation of the police, including assigned police liaison officers on the day.  Join me in exercising your right to protest against the monarchy!
  • We have already started lining up media coverage and interviews with broadcasters, this is a unique opportunity to get our message across to a huge audience
  • The June 3 protest will be the biggest republican protest in living memory – you can be a part of it, bring your friends and family, make it a great day out!