Thank You for Coming!

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Organisers of yesterday's royal Pageant issue public vote of thanks

The organisers of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant have issued a public vote of thanks to the millions of people who braved the weather to line the banks of the river Thames to pay tribute to Her Majesty The Queen - and to watch the 1,000 boat, seven-mile flotilla between Battersea and Tower Bridge.

Lord Salisbury, Chairman of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, said: "We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Her Majesty The Queen, the other members of the Royal Family and of course all those people who braved the elements to come out to enjoy our Pageant. We hope it was a fitting tribute to 60 years of service.

"I would also like to pay tribute to our Pageant team. It was a triumph of their professionalism and years of hard work."

Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, added: "I would like to add my personal thanks to the 1,000 skippers and their crews, who did a magnificent job bringing their vessels safely onto the river, helping to create a truly majestic spectacle.

"Thanks to the extraordinary valour of the rowers, a new Canaletto moment was created. We are all thrilled that two years of careful planning and preparation by so many people has paid off. We very much hope that The Queen enjoyed it as much as we did."

Michael Lockett, the Chief Executive of the Pageant, said: "Particular thanks should go to the men and women of the Port of London Authority, the RNLI, the Met, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Environment Agency for helping to ensure that a highly complex event on a potentially dangerous river went so smoothly. It seems that the United Kingdom really does do this kind of thing better than anyone else.

"I would also like to pay tribute to our remarkable Pageant team for delivering a great public celebration of The Queen’s extraordinary achievements."

Picture by Matt Writtle

The flotilla’s jewel in the crown was the Royal Barge - Spirit of Chartwell - which was decorated with over 10,000 blooms, and carried The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

At 6pm, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal College of Music Chamber Choir performed the National Anthem for The Queen, with pyrotechnic effects from Tower Bridge as its bascules closed, in the finale to the grandest event staged on the Thames for 350 years.

The spectacular flotilla of vessels from across the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond, was watched by millions of well-wishers - many dressed for the occasion in red, white and blue - on giant screens in central London and in cities up and down the country.

Some 90,000 revellers watched on screens from the Diamond Jubilee Festival in Battersea Park, as well as those joining the celebrations from home in what is expected to be a huge UK and global television audience.

Lord Salisbury added: "The Pageant was also a public launch for the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which aims to raise funds for good causes in the UK and the Commonwealth – with a particular focus on young people.

" It is our great hope that the out-pouring of public support for the Monarch at today’s Pageant gives the Jubilee Trust the boost it so richly deserves."

The crowd at Fulham's Imperial Wharf

June 5, 2012