How to hold a Coronation street party: Closing your road, food, music and decorations
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Looking for street party ideas ahead of King Charles III's Coronation? And tips and advice on how to arrange an official street party? Read our in-depth guide, including how to get permission for a street party, what to eat and drink, and how to decorate ready for King Charles III's Coronation bank holiday celebrations.
On Saturday 6th May 2023, King Charles will be crowned alongside Camilla, Queen Consort, at Westminster Abbey. To celebrate the Coronation, it has been confirmed that an extra bank holiday will take place on Monday 8th May 2023 – two days after the official ceremony. This is in addition to the bank holiday already in place on 1st May, the government has said.
After celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee last year, we're all more than ready for another neighbourhood knees-up – but how do you plan a street party?
The Government and Street Party website have plenty of advice and free information packs on how to organise an official Coronation street party, but to give you a helping hand we’ve rounded up the most important information here.
How to organise a Coronation street party: Rules and regs
Organising a Coronation street party of your own is actually much simpler than you might imagine. Anyone who wants to hold a street party is welcome to do so any time during the bank holiday weekend, from Saturday 6th May - Monday 8th May. While it's helpful if one person takes charge, the idea behind a street party is that the whole road is involved in the planning and organising, and it brings the community together.
Need to know:
If applicable, apply for a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to close a road
Start planning six weeks in advance. Many deadlines fall in March
Fill out government application form on local council website FIND YOUR FORM
No risk assessment needed
Need Temporary Events Notice for loud music and/or to sell alcohol APPLY HERE
Consider Coronation garden parties for smaller events
Once application approved, invite guests!
The government suggests you start party planning at least six weeks in advance by filling out an application form on your local council website. This gives them time to put a temporary traffic regulation in place and close your road to traffic so you can take advantage of the whole street. While some councils might charge a small fee, event officials are being encouraged to make street parties as affordable as possible and facilitate any necessary road closures.
If you’re planning on selling alcohol, or if amplified music is the main purpose of your event (for example if you were holding a mini concert, rather than a street party) then you’ll need a Temporary Events Notice. We’d suggest sharing as much information as possible on your initial application form so the council can best advise you on which route to take.
Once you’ve had the approval from the local council, you can go about spreading the good news and make sure as many of your neighbours can come to the party as possible. Pop handwritten letters through front doors, set up a Whatsapp group so people know what to bring, or go one step further and document the whole journey from conception to party on an Instagram account. Your local council will also be encouraged to promote street parties on their own communication channels like Facebook and Twitter.
What to eat and drink at a Coronation street party
Once you have the date and time worked out, you can think about the fun stuff – the food and drink. We’re partial to a coronation chicken sandwich, followed by slab of Victoria Sponge and a glass of Pimms – but you can serve whatever you like at your street party.
It might seem like a daunting task to try and cater for your whole street, so we’d suggest asking everyone attending to contribute by bringing their own speciality dish or drink. That way, you’ll have a wide spread and it’ll cater to everyone in your community, from vegans and veggies to cake-lovers.
Need to know:
Ask everyone to bring a dish and drink to share the load
Aim for wide variety to cater for all needs
Think about whether you'll need plates and/or cutlery
Think about reducing waste and single-use items
One thing to consider is how you’ll be eating your food. If it’s a mostly standing situation, let people know that finger food or cold bites you can eat without the need for cutlery and crockery are best.
If you’re looking for a little inspiration, The Big Lunch has hundreds of ideas, from classic British recipes like scotch eggs and sausage rolls, to modern favourites like sticky chicken wings and watermelon and mint salad. If all else fails, a cheese board with a load of chutneys and crackers will always go down well with most.
When it comes to drinks, you can serve alcohol as long as you don’t charge for it. Or you can make a refreshing non-alcoholic punch that people can add to if they want, or hire a tea urn and tell everyone to bring their favourite mug for a cuppa. Snap up Emma Bridgewater's Union Jack mug for the occasion.
How to decorate a Coronation street party
Embrace the party vibe and transform your normally suburban street into a brightly decorated wonderland.
One of the most effective ways of decorating your street party is to hang bunting between the houses, criss-crossed over the road to unite the street and bring a sense of solidarity. The same goes for flags, which can be hung from your porch, inside your windows or draped over a table as a cloth.
If you have the space, we’d suggest placing long trestle tables down the middle of the street and asking everyone to bring a brightly coloured tablecloth for a patchwork quilt effect. This is also a more sustainable option than buying paper tablecloths you’re likely to throw away after one use.
Add old ribbons, lace, string or coloured crepe paper to the backs of chairs to give them a bright makeover. This is also really effective if you don’t have room for a trestle table but still want to jazz up your garden furniture.
Serve food and drink on mismatched crockery, sourced from the back of your cupboards or the local charity shop. It doesn’t have to be expensive but nothing says ‘fancy’ like using proper tableware rather than environmentally-unfriendly plastic cups. The same goes for displaying all those delicious cakes – if everyone brings a cake stand, you can place them down the middle of the table for an extra special look.
To keep the cost down on bunting or flowers, task all the children on your street with a crafting session and ask them to create paper flowers to fill jugs and vases down the middle of the table, or to create DIY bunting. Sometimes a homemade look means more and it’ll encourage them to get to know each other before the street party itself.
Hopefully the great British weather holds out and the sun shines – but we’d also suggest having a stash of umbrellas somewhere close to hand to protect your decorations (and food) from any summer showers.
What music to listen to at your street party
Music can make or break even the best party, so it’s fair to say you’ll want your street party to have a soundtrack that strikes the right note. There are plenty of ways to do this without spending a penny.
You can create a public playlist on Spotify or Apple Music and ask everyone attending to drop a few of their favourite tracks in there. If you are hosting a party on Saturday 6th May, pop the TV on to watch the Coronation ceremony live.
Wondering what the royal family would listen to? Take inspiration from the Queen herself, who in a 2016 interview with the BBC revealed her top 10 favourite tracks. Favouring “musicals and mainstream music with no airs and graces,” the list includes:
Oklahoma! Howard Keel
Anything You Can Do (Annie Get Your Gun), Dolores Gray and Bill Johnson
Sing, Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band feat. the Military Wives
Cheek to Cheek, Fred Astaire
The White Cliffs Of Dover, Vera Lynn
Leaning on a Lamp-post, George Formby
Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven (hymn)
The Lord is My Shepherd (hymn)
Lester Lanin Medley
Regimental March, Milanollo
Alternatively, add some of Prince William and Kate’s favourite artists to your playlist. The couple are huge fans of singers Ed Sheeran, who performed at Prince William's Earthshot Prize Awards, Ellie Goulding, who sang at the couple's wedding and Leona Lewis who serenaded the audience at Kate's Christmas Carol service at the end of 2021.
Either way, we think we can all agree that God Save the King should be on there at some point. We should also point out that the level of the music should also be respectful as there might be people on the street who are not joining in with the festivities.
Whatever you do, however big or small, enjoy the fact you're able to celebrate with people you care about in person, and not over Zoom.
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