Spectators advised to dress up for wedding

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LONDONERS WITHOUT an invite to the royal wedding in Westminster Abbey can start celebrating early on Friday, the day of the wedding, in the city’s iconic Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square, all dressed in proper wedding finery, of course. Spectators are being encouraged to dress up for the occasion by wearing hats. They can watch the ceremony at three 100 square metre screens in Hyde Park and one in Trafalgar Square. “If you’re coming along dress up and make sure you wear a hat!” was the only advise from the organisers to the spectators.
The events — jointly organised by the department for culture, media and sport, London mayor Boris Johnson and the Royal Parks — are free and non-ticketed, with places allocated on a first-come, first-served basis from at 7 am on Friday. The organisers have suggested a dress code to make the spectators feel like wedding guests and have arranged wedding bands, stalls selling champagne and Pimm’s and wedding cakes at both the venues to make it a real celebration. The open-air wedding extravaganza will start with wedding breakfast from 7 am and end with “family photo” and toast to the newlyweds and of course, a ride in the carriages at the close. “The royal wedding is a fantastic opportunity for Londoners and visitors to come together for a magnificent celebration, in Trafalgar Square, in Hyde Park, or at one of the many street parties taking place across the capital. Amidst the pageantry and tradition, the whole world will experience why London is the greatest city to live, work and visit,” London mayor Boris Johnson said on Tuesday.
He is expecting the city to get a major economic boost from estimated 1.5 million visitors for the royal wedding. About 20,000 people are expected to watch the wedding live on screen at Trafalgar Square, close to both Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace, and about 200,000 are anticipated to watch the proceedings in Hyde Park, where three screens will show all the action on the day.