With less than a week to go until the Queen’s Baton Relay, excitement is building across Solihull in anticipation of all the community events that will take place on Tuesday 26 July and the spectacular Musical Extravaganza from 5pm in Jubilee Gardens, Solihull town centre, that will take place at the end of the day.
The Gardens and Solihull Town Centre are now dressed for the occasion, boldly bedecked with banners and bunting bearing the branding of Birmingham 2022 and the Queen's Baton Relay.
Tickets for the event have been allocated to hundreds of Solihull Residents who applied in a ballot. Some will have already been informed and others will be made aware by Saturday July 23. Thousands of applications were received, and whilst it is unfortunately impossible to accommodate everyone who wished to attend, they will still have a chance to experience the excitement as the Queen’s Baton is taken down poplar road, Solihull high street and through Mell Square before passing St Alphege Church.
Once the relay reaches the roundabout at the end of Homer Road, access will be restricted to ticket holders so please do not attempt to follow the relay all the way round to Jubilee Gardens.
There will be a special performance by the Band of the Grenadier Guards who will arrive at the stage having escorted the Queen’s Baton relay through Solihull Town Centre as part of the Baton’s visit to the Borough. The Band of The Grenadier Guards are performing by kind permission of Major General C J Ghika CBE, Major General Commanding the Household Division.
The lucky ticket holders will be treated to an evening’s entertainment in Jubilee Gardens, starting in the early evening with performances by a variety of artists, until the final Batonbearer of the Solihull leg of The Queen’s Baton Relay enters the arena, accompanied by the Band of The Grenadier Guards. The band will then play half an hour of favourite tunes before On Yer Bike takes centre stage.
The musical extravaganza will be headlined by a performance of On Yer Bike - a musical celebration of the history and future of cycling including Solihull’s contribution to the story of the bicycle. Produced by Parrabbola for Culture Solihull, it’s sure to be fun for all the family and is a special event in Solihull as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.
Councillor Karen Grinsell, Deputy Leader of Solihull Council and the portfolio holder for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games said –
“What a privilege it’s going to be to welcome the Queen’s Baton Relay to Solihull. I’m delighted we’ve been able to put on an event worthy of the occasion. Congratulations to all the lucky ticket holders who will be in Jubilee Gardens that evening, but there’s no need to despair if you were unsuccessful.
The Band of The Grenadier Guards will be playing the Baton all the way through the town centre, and I’d urge you to check out an event local to you, as there will be things going on all over the borough all day. Naturally, as a Shirley ward Councillor, I’m particularly excited about the event in Shirley Park, but there’s plenty on offer everywhere to celebrate this once in a lifetime experience”
For full details of all the events along the Queen’s Baton Relay route please click here.