Ex-mayor oversees Golden Jubilee

By Caroline Davies

Planning for the Queen's Golden Jubilee is under way with the appointment of Lord Levene, the former Lord Mayor of London, as the man in charge of the capital's celebrations.

Lord Levene, chairman of Deutsche Bank Investment Bank Europe, has been chosen to head an organising committee. His appointment is seen as apolitical, possibly reflecting the Government's wish to avoid a repeat of the Dome fiasco. He said yesterday: "It should be great fun. We are starting with a blank canvas, and I prefer it that way."

The Queen has made clear that she does not want lavish celebrations paid for from public funds. But Lord Levene believes that Londoners will more than rise to the occasion and re-create the community spirit of the street parties held in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee.

He said the Queen and the Government wanted people "to do their own thing. The intention is to have a lot of spontaneous events which come from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. We want people to tell us how they want to celebrate, rather than dictate to them what somebody else wants them to do. Our job is to help co-ordinate operations".

The climax of the celebrations will take place in June next year, although the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne will be on Feb 6. A public holiday will be held on Monday, June 3. The spring bank holiday will be moved to the next day to allow four days of public celebration.

On June 4 the Queen and members of the Royal Family will attend a national service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral after a ceremonial procession. The Queen will open the Commonwealth Games in Manchester on July 25 and close them on Aug 4. She will be the fourth British monarch to celebrate half a century on the throne after Henry III, George III and Queen Victoria.