{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Chris James, Head of Brand and Ambassadors","standfirst":"The Coronation weekend (6-8 May) is now just over a month away. Across the UK, Scout Groups are making exciting plans to mark this historic occasion, with many taking part in The Big Help Out on 8 May, a national day of volunteering.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EScouts have a \u003Ca href=\u0022/national-events/coronation/a-history-of-scouts-and-coronations/\u0022 title=\u0022A History of Scouts and Coronations\u0022\u003Eproud history of marking royal occasions\u003C/a\u003E. After the coronation of George V in 1911, an astonishing 30,000 gathered to celebrate at Windsor Great Park.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the coronation of George VI in 1937, 7,000 Scouts sold 170,000 programmes. They were sold out by half past seven on the morning of the big day!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat total was exceeded by the 700,000 programmes sold by Scouts at the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOnly last year, Scouts lit over 100 beacons to mark Her Late Majesty the Queen\u2019s Platinum Jubilee, while 160 young Scouts volunteers supported the queue at the lying in state, showing their service to others.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20409/scouts-lightling-jubilee-beacon.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"altText":"Chief Scout Bear Grylls lighting a jubilee beacon with three other Scouts","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EShowing our pride\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow, with the \u003Ca href=\u0022/national-events/coronation/\u0022 title=\u0022Coronation\u0022\u003ECoronation of HM King Charles III\u003C/a\u003E taking place on Saturday 6 May, Scouts will once be seen in their communities, serving the public and honouring The King.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile some will be in London, supporting the Coronation itself, many more will be celebrating locally. Across the UK, Scouts are staging and joining events to bring people together.\u00A0 \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E1\u003Csup\u003Est\u003C/sup\u003E Houghton in Northamptonshire, for example, will be cooking breakfast at a family fun day on Monday 8 May. They\u0027ll also be running taster activities to attract new young people and volunteers. This is exactly the kind of thing Scouts can do to take part in \u003Ca href=\u0022/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Help Out\u0022\u003EThe Big Help Out\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 a day to inspire the next generation of volunteers.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, 15th St Helens (St Andrews) will be running their own family fun day and BBQ, inviting all parents and carers in the group, alongside siblings, local councillors and others. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E155th Derby (Etwell) will be relying on an old Scout favourite. They\u0027ll be running a make your own s\u2019more station at their local village event (consisting of chocolate biscuit and melted marshmallow sandwiches, of course!) They\u0027ll also be demonstrating other skills for life and sharing their volunteer opportunities \u2013 another perfect way to be part of The Big Help Out.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany Scouts, such as 161st Derby (Hilton), are opting to run a community picnic and, just as importantly, helping with the clear up afterwards.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDon\u2019t forget to \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://bighelpout.app/signup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Help Out website\u0022\u003Edownload the app from The Big Help Out website\u003C/a\u003E to \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://org.thebighelpout.com/register-an-organisation\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Submit your Big Help Out event\u0022\u003Elog your event and volunteering opportunity\u003C/a\u003E. 6th Farnborough Scouts have already decided to take part.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19586/king-charles-with-scouts.jpg","width":6048,"height":4032,"altText":"King Charles in a black suit greeting Scouts","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EA green coronation\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe King is well known for his love of nature and support for the environment. Many Scout Groups are therefore taking the opportunity to do things to promote sustainability.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeavers from 2nd Atherton Scouts in Manchester will be decorating envelopes filled with seeds and handing these out to members of the community to plant. Along the same lines, 1st Calverton Beavers will be planting new flowers and bulbs in their local area.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EPart of The Big Help Out and The Big Lunch\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDebbie from Market Harborough Scouts in Leicestershire will be combining\u00A0\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.edenprojectcommunities.com/stuff-to-do/organise-big-lunch\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Lunch website\u0022\u003EThe Big Lunch\u003C/a\u003E (on Sunday 7 May) with The Big Help Out.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EResidents will be invited to bring their own picnic to the park, where Scouts will be hosting a celebration with a bouncy castle and party music. 1st Foxton Scout Group are planning to run a Dog Show at the event and make insect hotels.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We know people flock to picnics in the park,\u2019 says Debbie, \u2018so combining them means we\u2019ll have an audience of all ages.\u2019\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20400/the-big-lunch-169.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"altText":"Crowd of people in brightly coloured clothes standing in the middle of a bunting-lined street waving at the camera","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EImproving communities\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPlenty of Scouts, including those from Seaham District, 1st Liskeard in Cornwall and 1st Sunbury in Surrey, will be showing their pride in their communities by litter-picking over the Coronation weekend.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts from 1st Sunbury are also joining with their local community in Orchard Meadow to enjoy a picnic to celebrate the Coronation, while talking about the benefits of volunteering. This\u0027ll finish with an illuminated sail past of decorated boats on the Thames.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESome groups are making the most of the occasion to inspire new volunteers and improve their facilities. Scouts from 1st Cringleford in Norfolk are organising a \u2018barn raising\u2019. They\u0027ll be asking the community to help them build an outdoor shelter at their Headquarters.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the spirit of The Big Help Out, they\u2019ll also be putting on some pop-up Scouts activities for member of the public, helping hands and potential volunteers to have a go.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EPlay your part\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether you\u2019re \u003Ca href=\u0022/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/preparing-for-the-big-help-out/\u0022 title=\u0022Preparing for The Big Help Out\u0022\u003Eplanning a party, picnic or pop-up activity\u003C/a\u003E in your village, town or city, make sure you make the most of the Coronation weekend to celebrate, be seen and serve your community.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOnce you\u0027ve got your plan for Monday 8 May,\u00A0\u003C/span\u003E\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://org.thebighelpout.com/register-an-organisation\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022The Big Help Out website\u0022\u003Eregister your event on The Big Help Out website as an event organiser\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u00A0so that potential volunteers can find out all about it.\u00A0\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA big thank you to everyone planning something for this very special weekend.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"29 March 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Preparing for The Big Help Out","url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/preparing-for-the-big-help-out/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Planning a safe event","url":"/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safety/event-safety-and-planning/","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Tips for volunteer recruitment","url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/volunteer-recruitment/","newWindow":true}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Get the Coronation Badge from Scout Store","url":"https://shop.scouts.org.uk/new-in/coronation-of-hm-king-charles-iii-uniform-badge-#selection.size=719\u0026selection.color=34","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Get the Coronation Badge (Welsh language version) from Scout Store","url":"https://shop.scouts.org.uk/new-in/coronation-of-hm-king-charles-iii-uniform-badge-welsh-#selection.color=34\u0026selection.size=719","newWindow":true},{"caption":"","title":"Resources on Scouts Brand Centre","url":"https://scoutsbrand.org.uk/search?s=coronation","newWindow":true}],"id":76428,"nodeName":"Coronation countdown","title":"Coronation countdown","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/19586/king-charles-with-scouts.jpg?cc=0,0,0,0.15625\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1daf3abe7fdad50","caption":"King Charles with smiling Scouts volunteers","type":"jpg","size":446343,"width":6048,"height":4032,"altText":"King Charles, wearing a black suit, smiles at a group of Scouts standing in a line, wearing beige shirts and neckers."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Coronation countdown","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Across the UK, Scout Groups are making exciting plans for the Coronation weekend.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NjQyOCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/march/coronation-countdown/"}