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Subscribe to RSSLive from London, Meredith Vieira previews Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee weekend, including never-before-seen home movies released by Prince Charles. Camilla Tominey and NBC's Ben Fogle chat about the excitement in the air.
LONDON -- It will be a weekend of celebration across Britain. Not least among suffering retailers, who amid the country's double-dip recession will be cheering as loudly as the flag-flying crowds lining London's River Thames to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
But despite the estimated 823 million pounds ($1.25 billion) expected to be spent by revellers this weekend, British businesses have proved stingy when it comes to raising the funds for the piece de resistance: Sunday's advertising-free pageant will include a three-hour flotilla featuring more than 1,000 boats.
The committee responsible for the event earlier this year tried entice British companies into contributing to its 10.5 million pound ($16 million) cost. But with a ban on advertising on either the riverside or on participating boats, it proved to be a difficult sell and organizers had to draw on contributions from foreign companies and individuals to make up the shortfall.
Jubilee fever is gripping the U.K. in the form of royal souvenirs – but the ultimate Jubilee gift may be a one-of-a-kind desk complete with a hidden diamond, which will be auctioned off for charity. NBC's Ben Fogle reports.
Lord Salisbury, the chairman of Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, reportedly said that he did not wish to empty the public purse.
Instead organizers had to approach a number of non-British companies to pay for the costs, which include 7,000 stewards as well as festivities planned in Battersea Park.
'Six-figure checks'
Official supporters include American oil company Chevron, advertising company AMV BBDO and Boris Johnson, who is London's New York-born mayor. An additional 20 publicly listed donors have contributed to the tab.
Read more stories from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Companies from America, Australia and the Far East have reportedly signed "six-figure checks" as contributions.
However, the British public will never know the full list of organizations that contributed to the funding as the Jubilee Foundation only lists the donors who wish to be named.
While more than a century separates festivities marking Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne from those honoring her predecessor Queen Victoria, surprising similarities connect the commemorations. NBC News' Jim Maceda reports.
Among this list there are 14 U.K. individuals and companies and six foreign individuals and businesses. This list includes American banking giants Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and Japanese brokering house Nomura Group.
According to a Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant spokeswoman, there are "a considerable number of contributors who have made donations and do not wish to be named."
More Diamond Jubilee coverage from Britain's ITV News
Other events, where companies are allowed to market themselves, have proved more popular to companies.
With just days to go until the country's largest river event in 350 years, a complex security operation has kicked in to ensure the safety of the thousand boats that will accompany the Queen down the Thames for the Jubilee river pageant. The flotilla will include sailing ships, music barges and a Hawaiian war canoe. ITN's Fatima Manji reports.
The biggest commercial boon will be the Queen's Jubilee Picnic, to be held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on Monday and attended by 13,000 guests.
Supermarket giant Waitrose may be providing 10,000 free hampers for the Jubilee Picnic but its commercial gains are already pouring in.
Waitrose has predicted its strawberry sales will increase seven-fold and "sales of Elderflower cordial have been soaring by an incredible 1,000 percent."
London is getting dressed up for the Jubilee weekend .. hanging out the bunting for the Queen's procession. In the royal mews at Buckingham Palace they're preparing for a second grand royal occasion in just over a year. The carriage that will take the Queen and Prince Philip back after a service at St Paul's Cathedral s being polished up again. ITN's Tim Ewart reports.
A survey by Moneysupermarket.com also suggests Britons will spend 823 million pounds ($1.26 billion), or an average of 40 pounds ($61) per person on Jubilee-related purchases.
However, not everything is in the best possible taste. Diamond Jubilee sick bags are among the items being sold.
Also from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism:
- Covert War project: Tracking US actions in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen
- Is Vladimir Putin the richest man on earth?
- Vodafone: Undercover investigation exposes Swiss branches
- International development aid going to private companies
- Obama embraced redefinition of 'civilian' in drone wars
Leave a Comment:
Should the royal families be loved? My short answer is No and they're the parasites of societies. They have no useful functions for any society today. They are sucking up the resources which should be given to the poor. How dare of them asking for raises in a recession for doing nothing? It is like Robin Hood in reverse.
Chinese have suffered a lot from the decisions of the 'royal' families.
Opium Wars. How outrageous a nation pushing drugs to another nation? They burned the summer palace and looted like barbarians. The loots are being displayed in museums in London and Paris. Even after many hand changes, loots are still loots. It led to China's centuries of humiliation and bankrupting China.
WW2. The Japanese thought they're loyal to their ambitious and wicked emperor to rule Asia. These soldiers are war criminals killing babies, looting, raping... Many of them are being paid respect by high officials in the 'shrines'.
The two A-bombs should have been dropped on the royal palace instead of killing innocent citizens. I'm sorry for the recent tsunami esp. on the suffering of the current generation who has nothing to do with WW2. It could be a late punishment from God on their war crimes that they want to ignore history with their own fantasy.
We should not spread hatred. However, if we do not learn from history, most likely we will repeat history.
Lighten up, Francis.
Tsunamis? A-bombs? Ah, yes, another rambling, anti-royal "rant".
1. The royal family does more for charity than you ever will.
2. The Chinese people STILL suffer, even without an emperor, and in democracies, elected officials can be greedy. selfish and horrible too. Many monarchs have been enlightened.
3. You bash historical Chinese royalty and then decry the burning and looting of the emperor's Summer Palace, followed by a wish that A-bombs had been dropped on Buckingham Palace in WW2. No screwed up logic here, by golly.
4. The British monarchy is a constitutional one, and it most certainly does have a function. As an institution, it symbolizes tradition, continuity, and national values, despite shortcomings that individual members may have. Elizabeth II has been a good Queen, and other countries with monarchs, like the Netherlands, hold their royals in high regard. We in America elect president every four years and then whine and complain until the next election. That's better?
5. God punished the Japanese with a tsunami for WW2 atrocities? Maybe God punished the Chinese for atrocities with the burning of the Summer Palace. Just as illogical as the entire content of your comment. Isn't this fun?
A couple of comment here:
Tony your an idiot , your rant has no relevance to the question posed by the article
Having been in business world wide, and have been invited to functions where the Queen is present (overseas) you would be stunned to learn how much good will she & her family generates, which I have to tell you turns into trade, hard cash. which England needs right now.
I am not surprised British companies didn't contribute, the tax regime in the UK is almost draconian and neither the countries businesses (excluding banks) or its people can afford anything more than a cooling pastie to celibate this momentous occasion.
Long live the Queen.
So what does the queen do in return for the $1.5B secret donors? Its hard to believe that "secret donors" would pay $1.5B out of love.
God Bless the Queen, Long May Britannia Rule the Waves..
What does our government officials do after the one term in which they suck income in from our tax dollars for the rest of their lives. Talking parasites of society, they don't ask for raises they just vote them in. Lets clean our own porch before we try to clean the neighbors.
The entire royal family get a free lunch everyday, when millions of Britons don't have a job,
Why should anyone bankroll HER celebration? She is a billionaire! Oh, I forgot, she is also a tight a$$ Hun!
Roger White--so I guess you are unpopular enough that you have to pay for your own birthday parties, and also buy your own gifts, right?
A Jubilee is a celebration for the entire country. And for your info, the Queen IS thrifty, but she also pays income tax on HER money (and it IS hers--she inherited it from her father, and so on, right up to Queen Victoria, who inherited it from an AMERICAN who thought it was disgraceful that the Queen of England should have to beg Parliament for candle money. And because of her family's thrift, but also because they were very wise at investing their money (begun on the right track by Prince Albert, queen Victoria's husband) ESPECIALLY in real estate, she is a very wealthy woman in her own right.
The British taxpayers pay for most of the up-keep on the various palaces and castles OWNED by the country, but that would need to be done ANYWAY, just as we maintain buildings that are big tourist attractions, like the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Statue of Liberty, etc.
Yes, yes, the downfall of modern society... blah blah blah...
"We should not spread hatred...." Just a random thought, don't you think, and I quote, "The two A-bombs should have been dropped on the royal palace instead of killing innocent citizens..." is just a touch hateful?
To blame the current royals for things done before they were born, or before they were in power, is sort of like my blaming your grandparents for my neighbor's miserable life... the two don't connect in anyway.
Here's the deal, we are an egocentric people; there will always be someone who has more than someone else, it's just human nature. Socialism doesn't work because of human ego, while "the people" may have the same things, those who control the people always have more... human ego will always trump the idea of a utopic society.
My suggestion is to get your knickers out of a twist, go have a pint, and learn to acknowledge the world is not out to get you. Relax a little and enjoy the things that life has to offer.
marc; Dropping two A-bombs on the royal palace would also have killed many innocent civilians, all of whome were our allies in that war.
Let's not indulge in a revision historty. I, and probably you, were no around in August of '45. Had we been, we might have lauded Truman for what he did. I know my father, did, after three years in the war in the Pacific, he wasn't all that thrilled about invading Japan, neither were any of his buddies. And that invasion would have killed several more than those two A-bombs killed.
Yes, I admit I am a bit off topic, forgive me for venting. Actually, I agree with your post.
Roger White-Agreed. My grandfather was part of the occupation forces in Japan after the war and the fact is that many of the people in Japan would have starved to death if the war had gone on for another year, which was the military's best estimate (given past history on Islands like Suribachi et al, that it would take to conquer the islands the way we had been.
It was interesting tho, that the women and old men were skin and bones, the soldiers were thin, but the Japanese CHILDREN were plump.
JAPAN knew that the children were their future, and did without in order to keep them healthy.
NOT the case in too many other societies.
And especially in OUR country, where the 50% who pay NO income taxes, gleefully insist on more and more freebees to be given to them, even tho the BILL for those hand outs will be dumped on their kids and grandkids.
That is the ULTIMATE in selfishness.
guess the british will never learn. shes one of the richest women in the world, let her pay for her on party. better yet, let those shiftless kids and grandkids of hers pony up.
Learn what? The British people aren't being asked to foot the bill. Contributions are coming from private donors, the whole point of the story. As as the celebration has a NATIONAL dimension, asking the Queen to foot the bill herself is ridiculous, like asking wealthy American presidents pay for their own inaugural celebrations.
How stupid of the businesses but maybe that is why British Businesses aren't as successful as they once were. I enjoyed reading how the Author tried to suck in the Lemmings and Liberals with the "Secret" stuff and all those big rich evil Companies who donated an give the impression that their was something amiss which obviously if you read the entire piece their is nothing amiss..But I see by the comments so far the truly ignorant missed that point and got the point the Author was trying to give. Suckers...
If the Author had done his homework he would found that past Celebrations, including weddings, brought Millions of Pounds to the pockets of the local Retailers and kept thousands of Brits in jobs making and creating the celebration items as well as the food & drink and tourist industries from items that were sold. Duh! So it just goes to prove how unsavy some people are business wise and why they miss the boat....To bad..
I have a great idea for a movie. A bunch of Ocean's Eleven type guys decide to storm the parade and steal the diamonds from the Queen. They succeed and get away and a national search for the perps involves a multi media approach which attracts lots of tourists and advertisers. They put advertisements on the police trucks and vehicles which will get lots of tv exposure. Finally, when the perps are found and the police are about to surround their house and capture them, the word comes down from Buckingham Palace to let them go and pretend that nothing happened and that the diamonds have been recovered. Everyone is astounded but the Queen is heard to say to her secretary that England has reaped millions of dollars from the robbery via the increased tourism and other things. The robbers are heard to say that the damned diamonds are fake. Everybody at the castle is happy and the real jewels are returned to the display case. What do you think?
Let's lighten up a little.She was not a bad lookin woman in her younger years.Apparantly had a great rack too
I know the British love and respect their queen and the monarchy, and it is an ancient and important part of their culture. What I dont understand is why big American companies are contributing big bucks to her celebration when there is so much need in our own country. When are we going to put ourselves first???? It is SO necessary at this point in our country's history. Govt and big business GIVE GIVE GIVE to the rest of the world, and our own folks are hungry and jobless. Just don't get it.
Julia--American companies ALL reap rewards in donating to things like this, maybe not right away, but in the long run.
And they all ALSO contribute to things here, too.
And sorry, but the rest of the world LAUGHS when we claim we have poor here.
How much you wanna bet that these unnamed "foreign donors" are Arab oil sheikhs?
Merrie England's been for sale for a long while now. You can see the result in, for example, the starkly anti-Israel and anti-American content of BBC-produced television programs like "Spooks" (marketed in the USA as "MI5").
They don't call it "Londonistan" for nothing.
Nungman--quite possibly. You DO know that those self-same 'Arab oil Sheikhs' also gave Jackie Kennedy the black horse that accompanied John Kennedy's coffin during his funeral cortege?
But here's the kicker--MANY of those donating are probably folks that do not want to be badgered by requests from charities when they already donate to the ones they have chosen.
And therefore they do NOT want their names known.
The British taxpayers are bnot paying a pence for the diamond jubilee for starters- so let them have their jubilees. If you are so upset about foreigners picking up the tab- look closer and tally up how much the Obamas are spending with their retinues,2 jumbo jets-foreign vactions for the kids- with secret service-diplomatic security forces. You American taxpayer are keepingf up their life style -soirees,dinners, musical eevents- they aint cheap. Tally up and leave Queen Elizabeth II alone.
Mimi, from your solecisms ("a pence"?) I must doubt you are English by birth but pass that.
Britain is paying a heavy price for selling itself to the Sheikhs. Not in money but in self-respect and sovereignty. One day and rather sooner than one would expect, Britain will find its freedom of action abroad curtailed and at home that Sharia has replaced Magna Carta.
Everyone in the WORLD should read this article. This, MONEY is what makes the world go around. Now the UK owes "favors" much the same way our elected officials here "owe favors" after an election. Anyone says that money doens't buy votes is up in the night. Corporations aren't going to waste money or give money to someone who is a "nice person" they are going to give money to someone that will get them a return on their investment. Sad to say but true. Us middle class folks are so far down the food chain we can't even see the top anymore.
Rick--so all the gifts that are given to OUR first Ladies and Presidents and Ambassadors and visiting dignitaries come with a bill attached?
Gifts given in the international forum are usually given just to make the giver look good, not for any supposed benefit it will return, with the possible exception of reciprocal visits when THEIR officials are gifted.
And the only one who will owe anything to the donors on this is the committee who planned the Jubilee flotilla.
MO. this is something different from the king of Siam sending a couple of his finest war elephants to President Lincoln.
The expenses of a national celebration should by rights be borne by the people of that nation or the sovereign herself. If the unprecedented (and inappropriate?) step of soliciting and accepting donations from other counties is taken then people have a right to wonder if some favor in return is expected.
Really? 2 days ago and only 22 comments? That shows the interest. I am only interested in reading those that feel the same way as myself. Why in the world would people pay for this? Donate for this? It is the royal family's obligation to foot the bill for this. 60 years, great, well done. She was born into this, she did not "work for it", secondly, I have been turned off from the stories and such, ever since the death of Diana and the marriage of Charles and Camilla. I just can't understand why JP Morgan, Chevron and any other American financial donations, would be given for this event, when we in America have homeless people and starving children and families without health care to boot. Those companies should be ashamed. Give me a break. Please, don't get me started.
So--if Obama should happen to be re-elected, he should pay for his OWN inaugural ceremony, including the police/Secret Service, park cleaners et al? Ditto with all the inaugural balls?
I guess he should pay rent on the White House, and pay all the staff's salaries, too, right?
How about all the Aides, secretaries, etc? Should he personally have to pay for those? Out of his salary?
You make me tired. We expect our President to live up to a certain lifestyle.
England expects the same of their Queen. She delivers. Always has.
I wish I was there. I remember having a big street party and getting gifts at school during her coronation. Food was still rationed from the war so it was a big treat and a happy time for everyone. Not sure if her family will be relevant in the future but Queen Elizabeth has always taken her position seriously and is well respected.
The rich propping up the rich and in secrecy. This so-called royalty has no place in the world anymore. In the name of royalty the world has suffered enough. Let them go off with their riches and spare us the extravaganza. By the rich, for the rich, of the rich has stolen the shirts off the people long enough. Be gone!
Oh God! England is more oppressive than North Korea with it's forced cult of personality. What threats did the government have to make to get so many thousands to turn out and pretend to adore the royal family? How many of those will be arrested for not seeming to be sincere in their admiration? They will be imprisoned in re-education camps and forced to learn the protocols for proper butt kissing of the royals! The royals of course will publicly stay above the fray but with full knowledge will allow the police to conduct the dirty work of interrogating those suspected of ambivalency towards the royal family. The royal family will secretly but personally direct M5 to with extreme prejudice deal with those who's attitudes represent a threat to the nation's adoration of the queen.
And worse since the supreme court equated corporations with people, secret donors are now able to bankroll the opulent displays of the royals without any transparency whatsoever.
Why are we attacking the Monarchy here in the US? We should be attacking the American company's, those that spent (donated) Millions should be boycotted.
CHEVRON, it's no wonder we pay over $4.50 a gallon for gas,
GOLDMAN SACHS, Millions donated, Thanks to we the people thay are still around. But here in America they proceed to fleece our pockets.
And Finally JP MORGAN AKA, CHASE. Chase received billions from our bail out and here they are giving away money. I will be closing my Chase accounts today. I will be citing its because they donated to the Queens party. I hope many more of you will follow in boycotting the above mentioned company's. And I encourage you to write to the company presidents and let them know how we feel.
jubelies...