title: All Time Low

text: Although still in the writing process, All Time Low began recording for their new album in January 2009, they finished recording only a month later. The album's lead single "Weightless" was released in March 2009 and became the band's first song to achieve some radio play worldwide. The song was included during the band's appearance at major concert venues, such as Bambooozle in May 2009, to promote the new album.


title: All Time Low

text: All Time Low released their third studio album "Nothing Personal" in July 2009. Before its official release, the full album was made available for streaming download one week earlier through MTV's "The Leak".


title: All Time Low

text: "Billboard" magazine predicted that the album "looked like it could" enter the top ten of the "Billboard" 200 in its debut week, with anywhere between 60,000 and 75,000 sales. "Nothing Personal" debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart and sold 63,000 copies, making it the band's highest charting album to date


title: All Time Low

text: They played Fall Out Boy's Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux Tour in spring 2009, with Metro Station, Cobra Starship, and Hey Monday. All Time Low also announced tours in both Australia and Japan in June 2009 with Set Your Goals. The band also did a ten date tour with We the Kings, Cartel and Days Difference. They headlined Warped Tour 2009 from July 19 through the end of the tour, and then played at Voodoo Experience 2009, which was headlined by Eminem, Kiss and The Flaming Lips.


title: All Time Low

text: All Time Low completed a European tour in the Fall of 2009, with support from The Audition and The Friday Night Boys. All Time Low also headlined the first The Glamour Kills Tour with We The Kings, Hey Monday, and The Friday Night Boys. It began October 15, 2009, and ran through December 6, 2009.


title: All Time Low

text: All Time Low announced in November 2009 that they had been signed to major label Interscope Records. One month later, the band won the "Best Pop Punk Band" at the Top In Rock Awards.


title: All Time Low

text: In May 2010, All Time Low released their first live album, entitled "Straight to DVD". The CD/DVD was a recording of a show in New York.


title: All Time Low

text: All Time Low returned to Ireland & The UK in January and February 2010 as they headlined the Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010 With The Blackout, My Passion and Young Guns. They played a few mainland Europe shows immediately afterward, mostly in countries they had never been before. All Time Low returned to Australia in February and March to play at Soundwave festival. All Time Low co-headlined The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010 between May and June, with Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, and LMFAO, along with numerous supporting bands including Good Charlotte, Forever The Sickest Kids, Cartel, and Simple Plan. All Time Low played the Reading and Leeds Festival 2010 in the UK over the August Bank Holiday. All Time Low headlined the My Small Package Tour in fall 2010, with supporting acts A Rocket to the Moon and City (Comma) State. Halfway during the tour, Before You Exit became a supporting act. On October 24, Storm The Beaches opened on the Baltimore date of the tour.


title: All Time Low

text: On March 15, 2010, All Time Low released the song "Painting Flowers" for the album "Almost Alice", the soundtrack for the fantasy-adventure film "Alice in Wonderland". They then began writing for their fourth studio album, which would also be their major label debut.


title: All Time Low

text: Demos for the band's album leaked to the web in August 2010. The band later confirmed in an interview which tracks would be on the upcoming album. All Time Low released their fourth studio album almost a year later, titled "Dirty Work", in June 2011, after being pushed back from a March release date. The album is currently All Time Low's highest-selling album to date overseas. It earned the album a peak position of No. 13 in Australia and Canada and No. 20 in the UK.


title: All Time Low

text: In spring of 2011, All Time Low embarked on the Dirty Work Tour even though the album was not yet released, supported by Yellowcard, Hey Monday, and The Summer Set. They were joined by Yellowcard and Young Guns on their UK tour shortly after. All Time Low concluded their summer 2011 tour, "Gimme Summer Ya Love Tour", with opening acts Mayday Parade, We Are The In Crowd, The Starting Line, Brighter, and The Cab. In September 2011, the band was scheduled to play at Soundwave Revolution in Australia, but the festival was cancelled. All Time Low co-headlined a mini-festival tour, Counter Revolution, in its place. The band finished their fall 2011 tour, "The Rise and Fall Of My Pants Tour" with The Ready Set, He Is We, and Paradise Fears. In Canada, the group toured with Simple Plan, Marianas Trench, and These Kids Wear Crowns.


title: All Time Low

text: The band returned to the UK on January 12, 2012. supported by The Maine and We Are The In Crowd and toured until February 4. Several of these dates sold out, so more dates were added. All Time Low also played the Warped Tour (June–August 2012) and the Reading and Leeds Festival (August 2012).


title: All Time Low

text: In May 2012, All Time Low left their label Interscope Records and released a new song titled "The Reckless and the Brave" on June 1 via their website as a free download. The band announced that they had been working on a new studio album, due for release sometime in 2012. On July 3, All Time Low announced that they had signed to Hopeless Records again and that the new album would be released in the second half of 2012. On August 10 they announced that their new album, titled "Don't Panic" would be released October 9 through Hopeless Records. On August 24, a new song titled "For Baltimore" was released through "Alternative Press". "Somewhere in Neverland" was released next, peaking in the top 50 on the US iTunes charts.


title: All Time Low

text: After the completion of the 2012 Warped Tour, the band announced a "Rockshow at the End of the World" headlining tour with The Summer Set, The Downtown Fiction and Hit The Lights. They headlined in Dublin, Ireland on August 20, Aberdeen, Scotland on August 22 and in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 23, 2012. They then played a series of shows around Europe including supporting Green Day in Germany. All Time Low were announced on Soundwave's 2013 lineup for Australia.


title: All Time Low

text: On September 27, All Time Low released the song "Outlines", featuring Jason Vena from the band Acceptance via MTV. On October 2, a week before its release, Hopeless Records' YouTube channel posted the entire Don't Panic album as a stream, with lyrics for all the songs.


title: All Time Low

text: In September 2013, the band re-released their album as Don't Panic: It's Longer Now!. It featured four newly recorded songs and four additional acoustic remixes as well as the original material. The lead single, A Love Like War featuring Vic Fuentes of Pierce the Veil was released on September 2. Starting on September 23, All Time Low toured with Pierce the Veil as a supporting act of A Day To Remember's House Party Tour.


title: All Time Low

text: On March 8, 2014, All Time Low toured the UK as part of their "A Love Like War: UK Tour" before moving on to the states on March 28 for the remaining part of the tour. The music video for their song "The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver" used clips from that tour and premiered on Kerrang! on May 14.


title: All Time Low

text: Their next album would be recorded with producer John Feldman. The album, "Future Hearts", was announced with the first single, "Something's Gotta Give", premiering on Radio One on January 11, 2015. The second single, "Kids In The Dark", was released on March 9, 2015. The band played Soundwave 2015 in Australia and headlined sideshows.


title: All Time Low

text: They headlined a spring US 2015 tour for the album with support from Issues, Tonight Alive and State Champs, and co-headlining a UK tour with You Me At Six. "Future Hearts" debuted at No. 2 on the "Billboard" 200, selling 75,000 copies in its first week, becoming the band's highest charting and biggest selling week ever. It also topped the UK Albums Chart with almost 20,000 first week sales.


title: All Time Low

text: The band has since toured and released music videos, including one for "Runaways" in August 2015. On September 1, 2016, the band leaked a new song titled "Take Cover", which was later officially released with a music video the next day as a bonus track for their live album, "Straight to DVD II: Past, Present, and Future Hearts". Members of the band also appeared for surprise DJ sets at Emo Nite in Los Angeles in 2015.


title: All Time Low

text: In mid-February 2017, the band announced a new song to be premiered on BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw, called "Dirty Laundry". The music video was directed by Pat Tracy, who had also directed the music video for "Missing You". This was the first release after changing record labels from Hopeless Records to Fueled by Ramen. Both songs are singles from their album, "Last Young Renegade", which was released on June 2, 2017. The band also released their cover of "Longview" by Green Day for the documentary "Green Day: The Early Years". On March 1, 2018, it was announced All Time Low would play three dates of the 2018 Vans Warped Tour. On June 12, 2018, the band released a song called "Everything Is Fine." The song's teasing featured the band members posting the song's title to social media repeatedly a day before it was released. On June 29, 2018, the band released a song called "Birthday." A live-in-the-studio re-recording of "Nothing Personal" was released on November 8, 2019.


title: All Time Low

text: On 29 May 2019, All Time Low performed at Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer's "Friends of Friends" sold-out benefit concert, held in Venice, California. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Safe Place for Youth project, a housing and support service for homeless youth in Los Angeles.


title: All Time Low

text: On January 1, 2020, the band released a video indicating the "Last Young Renegade" era had come to an end with a person in a panda suit burning their renegade jerseys, hinting their new album was coming.


title: All Time Low

text: On February 17, 2020, the band announced their new album, titled "Wake Up, Sunshine," and would be released on April 3, 2020. The album featured 15 tracks and collaborations with rapper Blackbear and The Band Camino.


title: All Time Low

text: On December 4, 2020, the band's song "Monsters" was re-released, featuring vocals from singer Demi Lovato.


title: All Time Low

text: In early October 2021, a TikTok video surfaced that accused an unnamed pop-punk band of inviting a 13-year-old onto its tour bus, claiming in the comments section that they "tried to take my bra off" with additional indications that it was All Time Low. A Twitter thread was later released anonymously detailing allegations against Jack Barakat. The band released a statement calling the allegations "completely and utterly false" and said they would pursue legal action. Meet Me at the Altar and Nothing,Nowhere dropped out of the band's Autumn tour and announced joint dates for shows in the wake of the allegations. The band sued three anonymous accounts for libel in February 2022, claiming they were "the victims of defamatory social media posts falsely and maliciously accusing them of sexual abuse and knowingly enabling such illegal conduct."


title: All Time Low

text: All Time Low's musical style has generally been described as pop punk, pop rock, power pop, emo pop, emo, and alternative rock. All Time Low cites bands such as Blink-182, Green Day, MxPx, New Found Glory, Saves the Day, and The Get Up Kids as influences.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’s hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Take the Long Way Home", "The Logical Song", "It's Raining Again", and "Breakfast in America."


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In 1983, Hodgson left Supertramp and moved his family away from Los Angeles to live a simpler lifestyle close to nature. After releasing two solo albums in 1984 and 1987, he took a break from his music career to spend time with his children as they were growing up. He returned to touring in 1997, and released a third solo album in 2000.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson often writes about spiritual and philosophical topics, and his lyrics have been described as personal and meaningful.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on 21 March 1950, the son of Charles and Jill Hodgson (née Pomfret), and grew up in Oxford. He attended boarding schools Woodcote House near Windlesham, Surrey, where he was the first boy to learn electric guitar, and Stowe School near Buckingham. Hodgson's first guitar, given to him when he was 12, was a parting gift from his father when his parents divorced. He took it to boarding school with him, where his teacher taught him three chords. He began composing his own music and lyrics and within a year gave his first concert at school with nine original songs at the age of 13. Hodgson's first band at school consisted of him on guitar and his friend Roy Hovey playing snare drums. They were dubbed the "H-bombs" because of their last names.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: When aged 19, Hodgson made his first appearance in a recording studio as guitarist for People Like Us, a band he joined shortly after leaving boarding school. The group recorded a single, "Duck Pond" and its B-side "Send Me No Flowers", which was never released.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: After People Like Us disbanded, Hodgson auditioned for Island Records, with Traffic's road manager providing him a foot in the door with the label. Island set him up in a recording studio as vocalist for the one-off "flower power" pop band Argosy, which also included Reginald Dwight (later known as Elton John), Caleb Quaye, and Nigel Olsson. Their sole single, "Mr. Boyd" and B-side "Imagine", consisted of two pieces of orchestrated pop (both penned by Hodgson) and was issued in 1969 on the DJM (UK) and Congress (US) record labels. "Mr. Boyd" was covered in 1997 by Jake Shillingford and his band My Life Story on their album "The Golden Mile".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: After the break-up of Argosy, Hodgson, responding to an advert placed in "Melody Maker" by Rick Davies, auditioned for the guitarist spot in the progressive rock band Supertramp. Similar to fellow British prog rockers Genesis' search for a new lead vocalist, 93 guitarists auditioned before Hodgson was chosen for the role, but when Richard Palmer arrived the next day to audition for the same spot, Hodgson agreed to learn bass instead.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: All the songs on Supertramp's self-titled first album, released in 1970, were composed by Hodgson, Davies, and Palmer. Hodgson and Davies collaborated on the composing while Palmer wrote the lyrics. Palmer left shortly after the album's recording, allowing Hodgson to switch back to guitar (as well as providing keyboards with Davies). From their second album "Indelibly Stamped" forward, Hodgson and Davies wrote separately with each singing lead vocals on their own compositions. "Crime of the Century", released in 1974, was the first of their albums to feature the line-up of Hodgson, Davies and new members Bob Siebenberg (drums), Dougie Thomson (bass) and John Helliwell (saxophone, clarinet, keyboards, backing vocals).


title: Roger Hodgson

text: This line-up would remain unchanged for the remainder of Hodgson's tenure in the group. Hodgson's song "Dreamer" became the band's first hit and drove the album to the tops of the charts. It was one of the first keyboard songs Hodgson wrote on his new Wurlitzer piano that he bought when he was 19 years old. "Dreamer" was written after setting the keyboard up at his mother's house, at the first opportunity he had to play it.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: At the time, Hodgson had a two-track tape recorder and made a "very magical" demo of the song on the spot with multiple vocal harmonies, using tin cans, lampshades and cardboard boxes for percussion. Hodgson has expressed that he loves playing the song in concert because it "just brings out the dreamer in everyone. So often we let go of that side of ourselves and it kind of reminds the audience and reminds me when I'm singing it, too, to keep that place in us alive." The follow-up "Crisis? What Crisis?", their first album to be recorded in the US, was released in 1975. The album charted on both the UK Top Twenty and the US Top Fifty.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: By their 1977 release "Even in the Quietest Moments", the band had permanently relocated to the United States. Hodgson's opening song on the album, "Give a Little Bit", became an international hit single (number 15 US, number 29 UK, number8 in Canada) and was written at 19 or 20 years of age; he introduced it to the band for recording five to six years later. Hodgson has stated the song was inspired by the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", released during the love and peace movement of the 1960s. Diana, Princess of Wales loved the song, and Hodgson performed it in her honour at the 2007 Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. Hodgson said of the performance: "It was very wonderful when the audience all stood up, and the princes also, to sing 'Give a Little Bit' with me. That was a magical moment." Hodgson has said it is a wonderful feeling as an artist to close his concerts with the song: "I look out and people just start hugging each other and they start singing with me. It's a very unifying song with a beautiful, simple message that I'm very proud of and really enjoy playing today."


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Supertramp released their most successful album, "Breakfast in America", in 1979; it has sold over 20 million copies to date. From that same album, "The Logical Song", written by Hodgson, is Supertramp's biggest chart hit in both the US and UK. In 1980, Hodgson was honoured with the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for "The Logical Song" being named the best song both musically and lyrically. To this day, "The Logical Song" also has the distinction of being one of the most quoted lyrics in schools. Hodgson composed the song from an autobiographical point of view, inspired by his experience of being sent away to boarding school for ten years. In recent interviews, Hodgson has said of the song's meaning that it was "born from my questions about what really matters in life. Throughout childhood we are taught all these ways to be and yet we are rarely told anything about our true self. We are taught how to function outwardly, but not guided to who we are inwardly. We go from the innocence and wonder of childhood to the confusion of adolescence that often ends in the cynicism and disillusionment of adulthood. In 'The Logical Song', the burning question that came down to its rawest place was 'please tell me who I am,' and that's basically what the song is about. I think this eternal question continues to hit such a deep chord in people around the world and why it stays so meaningful."


title: Roger Hodgson

text: "Breakfast in America" was written by a young Roger before joining Supertramp. An error on a demo copy credits Rick Davies as the writer, but an addendum corrects it prior to the album's release. Hodgson has said that he wrote it during his late teens at a time when he "had a lot of dreams" and that it "still brings a smile to his face" when he sings it on stage. Prior to writing the song, he was driven to find a harmonium (also known as a pump organ); he found one at an elderly woman's house in a village in the English countryside, which he bought for 24 pounds. Hodgson brought it home and proceeded to write many songs on it immediately, "Breakfast in America" being one of them - because the harmonium "had a magical quality to it and still does". He had the lyrics written in about an hour in a "stream-of-consciousness" fashion, expressed from a "real joyful, playful place he was in at the time", while "dreaming of having kippers for breakfast to flying to America and seeing the girls in California, among other things". Hodgson still has the instrument today. The sound on the record is the original harmonium and a grand piano.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: The live album "Paris" was released in 1980. "...Famous Last Words...", released in 1982, included Hodgson's compositions "It's Raining Again", "Don't Leave Me Now", "C'est le Bon", "Know Who You Are" and "Crazy".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson wrote hits such as "Give a Little Bit", "It's Raining Again", "Take the Long Way Home", "Dreamer", and "Fool's Overture".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In 1981, Hodgson moved his family from Los Angeles to northern California, where he built a home studio and began contemplating solo recordings. The rest of Supertramp remained in Los Angeles and the geographic separation created a rift between them and Hodgson; feuding was virtually non-existent, but the group harmony was lost. Hodgson felt increasingly constrained in the group context, and during the tour for "...Famous Last Words..." he made the decision to leave Supertramp. He has stated that there were not any real problems in his relationship with Davies, as was speculated.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Roger Hodgson recorded three solo albums at his new home studio, the first before his departure from Supertramp. Titled "Sleeping With the Enemy", it was cut in the months between the release of "...Famous Last Words..." and its supporting tour, and mixed during Supertramp rehearsals for the tour in hopes of fitting in some solo promotion while on the road. However, at the last minute Hodgson had second thoughts about the album's quality and decided to scrap it, planning to record a new and better album after his last tour with Supertramp.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: "In the Eye of the Storm", released in late September 1984, would prove to be Hodgson's biggest success without the group. The album became an international hit, selling over two million copies. The single "Had a Dream (Sleeping With the Enemy)" peaked at number 48 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts and number 11 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and the follow-up single "In Jeopardy" peaked at number 30.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson's second album was "Hai Hai" (1987). However, just prior to the album's release, Hodgson fell from a loft in his home and broke both wrists, which disabled him from promoting the album. Doctors told Hodgson that he would never play music again, but he was doing so within a year and a half. He decided to take a long break from both touring and recording in order to spend more time with his children.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In 1990, Hodgson was approached by Yes to join them as lead vocalist, but he declined the offer. One of the songs he co-wrote with Trevor Rabin, "Walls", appears on Yes's 1994 "Talk" album, with lyrics revised by Jon Anderson. A version of "Walls" with only Hodgson and Rabin on vocals was released on Rabin's 2003 archival release "90124".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: After a long break, Hodgson launched into his first tour in over ten years, and released 1997's "Rites of Passage" to document the tour. The live album was recorded at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City, California. He performed with a full band that included his son Andrew and Supertramp sax player John Helliwell. The album did not chart in the UK or the US, though it did reach number 34 in Germany.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson played King Arthur in the rock opera "Excalibur: La Legende Des Celtes", and appeared on the album for two songs: "The Elements", and "The Will of God". The project was headed by Alan Simon and released in 1999. In 2000, Hodgson contributed vocals on a track titled "The Moon Says Hello" by Carlos Núñez, on the CD "Mayo Longo".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson's fourth solo effort, "Open the Door", was released in 2000 and continued in the vein of his previous work. He collaborated again with Alan Simon on the album. "AllMusic" stated of the album: "Fans will be delighted to hear Hodgson returning to the craft of writing high-quality songs"... ""Open the Door" is the closest thing to Supertramp since "...Famous Last Words..."." In August 2000, Hodgson guested with Fairport Convention at that year's Cropredy Festival. He performed "Breakfast in America", "The Logical Song", "Open the Door" and "Give A Little Bit".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In 2001, Hodgson toured as a member of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band playing guitar and singing, and has since collaborated with Trevor Rabin (who appears on the track "The More I Look" on "Open the Door").


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson continued touring, often playing alone, and frequently joined by his band or a full orchestra. He took part in the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium and Germany in late 2004, as well as the rock festival Bospop in 2005 with return performances in 2011, 2013 and 2017. On 30 November 2005, he held his first concert in England for over twenty years, at Shepherd's Bush, London. While the performance was filmed and scheduled for a DVD release, the plan was scrapped. Instead, the concert recorded at the Place Des Arts in Montreal, Canada on 6June 2006 was his first DVD, released on 22 August 2006, entitled "Take the Long Way Home—Live in Montreal". In October 2006, the DVD was certified multi-platinum by the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association).


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In May 2006, Hodgson was honoured by ASCAP in recognition of his song "Give A Little Bit" being one of the most played songs in the ASCAP repertoire in 2005. He received another ASCAP award on 9April 2008 for the Gym Class Heroes' song "Cupid's Chokehold", a remake of Hodgson's "Breakfast in America", recognised as one of the most played songs in ASCAP's repertoire in 2007.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson participated as a mentor on "Canadian Idol" along with Dennis DeYoung. He continued mentoring several of the finalists during his 2006 Canadian tour.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1July 2007. He sang a medley of his most popular songs: "Dreamer", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America" and "Give A Little Bit".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: On 18 September 2007, the DVD "Take the Long Way Home—Live in Montreal" was released worldwide, achieving Platinum status in just seven weeks, reaching No.1 in all Canada, and multi-Platinum and Gold in France and Germany.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and Canada in 2010. Though Hodgson's former bandmates in Supertramp announced a 40th Anniversary reunion tour, he was not invited to join them. Hodgson's "Classics Live" is a collection of recordings taken from solo, band, and orchestra shows from his 2010 world tour. In May 2012, Hodgson was honoured by France as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. This prestigious decoration was established in 1957 by the French Minister of Culture to recognise significant contributions to the arts.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: Hodgson continued to tour worldwide from 2011 to 2016, including two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Hodgson's tour continues into 2017 with announced dates in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, the UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Monaco and Canada. In December 2017, Hodgson toured with Night of the Proms for 17 shows in Germany and Luxembourg. He was accompanied by saxophonist Michael Ghegan; Emily Bear performed "School" with him. As related by "Subba-Cultcha" magazine about Hodgson's concerts: "Alternating between electric keys, a grand piano and several guitars, Hodgson effortlessly weaves the music around his audience giving an almost cathartic emotional release in some cases"... "His instantly recognisable voice and pulsating keys are in as fine a form as you will hear, and the genuine friendliness and personality of Hodgson, comes across in waves from stage to audience." During his concerts, Hodgson often shares stories with the audience of how his songs were written and "connects deeply with the fans in a way few stars of his stature do".


title: Roger Hodgson

text: In 2018, Hodgson kicked off his Breakfast in America world tour, in honour of the 40th anniversary of Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" album. "Rolling Stone" reviewed the tour favourably.


title: Roger Hodgson

text: On 4 June 2019, he was decorated with the Order of Arts and Letters by Franck Riester, French minister of Culture, in Paris during a tour at the Olympia.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: The Hart wrestling family, sometimes known as the Hart dynasty, is a mainly Canadian family with a significant history within professional wrestling. The patriarch of the family was wrestling legend Stu Hart (1915–2003). An amateur and professional wrestling performer, promoter and trainer, Stu owned and operated his own wrestling promotion, Stampede Wrestling. He also trained some of the most well known stars in wrestling history including Superstar Billy Graham, Fritz Von Erich, Edge, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Christian and his sons Bret Hart and Owen Hart.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: All of Stu's eight sons were wrestlers and two of them, Bret and Owen, achieved considerable fame and success in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), with many of the WWF's biggest storylines in the mid-1990s being built around Bret and Owen and their brothers-in-law. The family is closely associated with Canada in the North American wrestling landscape and its Canadian heritage has often been emphasized in wrestling storylines, even to the point of overt opposition to American culture, but most of its members also have American citizenship through the family's American matriarch, Helen Hart.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Teddy Hart, the son of Georgia Hart, became the youngest wrestler ever to be signed to WWE. His release and subsequent controversies have earned him a bad reputation. As of 2021, the only Hart actively wrestling in WWE is Stu's granddaughter Natalie "Natalya" Neidhart, but Bret makes occasional guest appearances while WWE employs Dungeon graduates Tyson Kidd (also Neidhart's husband) as a producer and Edge as a part-time competitor.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Helen had initially been told by doctors that she may not be able to bear children at all because she was born prematurely, this turned out to be incorrect and Helen originally wanted to have 15 children but could not due to medical reasons.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Smith had six children, four of which are his biologically, daughters Tobi McIvor with a woman named Marla Josephson, and Satania "Tania" Hart (6 March 1985 – 14 March 2022) with his wife Maria Rosado Hart, a son Matthew Herweg with a woman named Liane Reiger Herweg and son Chad Pointen with a woman named "Zoe" Zo Amber Lee Beattie, as well as step-sons Steven Jupe and Michael Herweg with Liane Reiger Herweg.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Bruce has five children in total, daughters Brit, and Lara as well as sons Bruce Jr, Torrin and Rhett Hart with his ex-wife Andrea Reding Hart. From 2000–2002, while Bruce was still legally married to Andrea, Andrea was in a relationship with Diana Hart's ex-husband Davey Boy Smith, until Smith's death from a heart attack in May 2002. On December 27, 2019, Andrea died at the age of 52.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Keith has three children with his ex-wife Leslie duBerger Hart, Stewart Hart II, Conor Hart and Brock Hart. After his divorce Keith would remarry with another woman named Joan in 2002.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Dean had one child with his girlfriend Tammy, a daughter by the name of Farrah Hart, born in April 1990.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Ellie had three daughters with her husband, wrestler Jim Neidhart. Jennifer Neidhart, Natalie Neidhart (better known as Natalya), and Kristen Culbreth. Ellie and Jim divorced in 2001, but remarried to each other in 2010.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Georgia had four children with her husband, bodybuilder, gym owner, fitness guru and part-time wrestler Bradley Joseph "BJ" Annis. Edward, better known as Teddy Hart, Matthew, Annie and Angela Annis. On July 4, 1996, Matthew fell ill and was diagnosed with the flesh eating disease Necrotizing fasciitis. On July 16, 1996, Matthew died at the age of 13.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Bret and his first wife Julie Smadu Hart have four children, Jade Lambros, Dallas Hart, Alexandra Sabina "Beans" Hart and Blade Hart. Bret and Julie divorced in 2002. Bret married his second wife Cinzia Rota in 2004, but they divorced in 2007. Bret married his third wife Stephanie Washington in 2010.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Alison Hart has two children with her ex-husband, wrestler Ben Bassarab, Lindsay and Brooke B Hart. After their divorce Bassarab remarried to another woman.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Diana married wrestler Davey Boy Smith and had two children with him, Harry and Georgia Smith. Diana and Davey divorced in 2000. Diana has also dated pro wrestler James Trimble, who has worked for Ross and Bruce's incarnation of Stampede Wrestling.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Owen and his wife Martha had one son, Oje and one daughter, Athena. The name Oje is a derivative of Owen's first and middle name Owen and James, it was also Owen's nickname when he was younger. At the time of Owen's death in May 1999, he and Martha were planning on having a third child.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Tom Billington and Michelle Smadu Billington's three children, one son named Marek, and two daughters named Bronwyne Jewel and Amaris Jayne, are counted among the Hart grandchildren, since their parents were considered part of the Hart family, largely due to Tom's big role in Stampede Wrestling and Michelle being a sister of Bret Hart's first wife, Julie. After her divorce from Tom in 1991, Michelle would later on marry another man and have two twin children, Trey Liam Burbank and Trinity Eve Burbank.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Tobi McIvor has three daughters, Jessica and Amanda Steed born in 1995 and 1996 respectively, and Isabelle, born in 2006. Tobi is married to a man named Mike McIvor.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Edward Annis (Teddy Hart) has a son, Bradley Annis, with his ex-girlfriend Kim, born in 2001. Hart has also married a woman named Fay. She has been involved in his wrestling career. Annis and his wife have divorced.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Brit is married to a man by the name Jamie Harling, who works with her at the Rouge restaurant in Calgary.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In his autobiography, wrestler Roddy Piper states that he is a cousin of the Hart family he also made this statement in an interview on TNA. This fact was used as a trivia question on "Raw" once. Bret Hart has also stated that Piper was the only wrestler to visit him in the hospital after his stroke and that they were as close as brothers.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Wrestling promoter Jack Pfefer was a very close friend of Stu Hart who asked him to be the godfather of Hart's tenth child and seventh son, Ross.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Brian Pillman was another very close wrestler to the family and the only person who was neither related to the Hart through blood or marriage to be a member of the Hart Foundation. He has stated that he considered Bret and Owen as brothers to him and that he would have done anything for them. Pillman's son Brian Pillman Jr. also works with and is close to the family.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Chris Benoit was also very close to the Hart family. Bret Hart referred to him as like a family member.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: During the 1980s, Stampede Wrestling featured a villainous commentator and manager by the name Hugh Hart. He was said to be a cousin of the Hart family and would often ostracize Stu Hart over what he perceived as letting his children get away with bad behaviour. He also managed a team called "The Blackharts".


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In the late 80s the Stampede storylines also included a fictional brother of Davey Boy Smith by the name of


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Johnny Smith who feuded with Davey and Owen, the storyline also involved Diana Hart, who was worried over how Johnny's behaviour would affect their family.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Stu Hart was an experienced grappler who held many national championships. Several of his sons, including Keith, Dean, Bret and Owen had experience in amateur wrestling. With Bret and Owen being considered outstanding as young men. Conor and Stewart Hart, two of Keith's sons pursued amateur wrestling, Conor did so at the University of Calgary and Stewart won a medal in his school championship.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: The Hart family is one of the most well-known professional wrestling families in history. The patriarch of the family, Stu Hart was a professional wrestler and a trainer as well as the owner of Stampede Wrestling. Many of his children became professional wrestlers. He became involved with wrestling after retiring from his career with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Stu began promoting wrestling in 1948 and operated Stampede Wrestling until selling it to Vince McMahon in 1984. In 1985, however, he decided to revive the promotion, which remained in operation until December 1989. It was brought back again in 1999 by Bruce and Ross Hart and remains active today. Stu Hart has been noted from training some of North America's most famous wrestlers, including André the Giant, the "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid, Junkyard Dog, and dozens more in addition to his own sons.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Bret Hart has won the most wrestling championships of anyone in the family. He won his first title belt in the World Wrestling Federation while teaming with brother-in-law Jim Neidhart (Ellie Hart's husband) to form The Hart Foundation tag team. They had a feud with the British Bulldogs (Diana Hart's husband Davey Boy Smith and Bret Hart's sister-in-law's husband Dynamite Kid, who were first cousins in real life). On January 26, 1987, Hart and Neidhart defeated the Bulldogs to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. After the Hart Foundation split up, Owen Hart began teaming with Neidhart as The New Foundation. Bret went on to have a successful career as a singles wrestler, holding the WWF World Heavyweight Championship five times.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: The family connection played a role in two major WWF storylines. Four of the Hart brothers (Bret, Owen, Keith, and Bruce) formed a team at Survivor Series 1993. Animosity began to build between Bret and Owen, and Owen turned on Bret at Royal Rumble 1994. This led to a feud between the two brothers; Neidhart later became involved on Owen's side, while Smith sided with Bret. The feud culminated with Owen costing Bret the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. While Bret was defending the title against Bob Backlund at Survivor Series 1994, Owen tricked his mother Helen into throwing a towel into the ring to signify that Bret conceded defeat.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Several years later, the Hart Foundation was formed again, this time as a stable of anti-American wrestlers. Bret and Owen reconciled, and they were joined by Neidhart, Smith, and Brian Pillman (Pillman was not related, but had trained with the Hart family and was a friend of the family). At the pay-per-view in Calgary on July 6, 1997, the Hart Foundation won a five-on-five match against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust, and The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal). Bret Hart left the WWF in 1997 after what has come to be known as the Montreal Screwjob, while Owen died as the result of a failed stunt during his ring entrance at the Over the Edge 1999 pay-per-view. Bret would eventually return to the renamed WWE in 2010 after settling his differences with the promotion.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Three of Stu and Helen Hart's grandchildren have begun careers in professional wrestling. Nattie Neidhart, daughter of Ellie and Jim, trained in Calgary and now wrestles for World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the WWF) under the ring name Natalya. She was the first female from the Hart family to win a championship gold, when she won the Divas Championship at Survivor Series 2010. Natalya would go on to have one of the most prolific careers of any female in WWE history, having the most matches of any female in WWE history, along with an on-going 15 year tenure, the longest of any active female wrestler in WWE. Harry Smith, son of Diana and Davey Boy Smith, currently uses the name Davey Boy Smith Jr. and also wrestled for WWE, under the name David Hart Smith. Teddy Hart, son of Georgia Hart and B. J. Annis, has also competed in WWE, but was released by the company.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In the mid and late 90s Harry Smith, T.J. Wilson, Teddy and his brother Matthew were all training together. Matthew would later wrestle shortly together with Wilson, Smith and his brother before dying of a flesh eating disease in 1996.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Two of Bruce Hart's sons Bruce Jr and Torrin have been involved in pro wrestling. Torrin began wrestling when he was 17 years old.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Two of Smith Hart's sons, Mike and Matt Herweg have started a career in wrestling. They perform under the names Matt Hart and Mike Hart, using their father's surname. Matt gained his first championship on December 15, 2017, for the Real Canadian Wrestling promotion.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Both of Alison's daughters, Lindsay and Brooke have had relationships with wrestlers, Lindsay with Randy Myers and Brooke with Peter Minnema better known under his ring name "Pistol" Pete Wilson. Brooke and Peter Minnema are now married since 2014. Minnema was trained in by the Hart family and has appeared for the Hart Legacy promotion.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Alexandra Sabina "Beans" Hart was at one point training to become a wrestler, hoping to eventually join her cousin Natalya as a WWE Diva.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Jim Neidhart was arrested on September 6, 2010, and charged with two counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, two counts of trafficking illegal drugs, one count of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, and one count of third degree grand theft for property stolen between $300 and $5,000. He was arrested after becoming aggressive with police after ingesting multiple pills outside a gas station. In March 2012, he was sentenced to five months and 29 days in jail.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In January 2013, members of the Hart family hosted a wrestling event in Calgary, advertising the event as an online pay-per-view that never aired. Talent, event staff, and venue representatives claimed they were never paid despite a sold out show.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Alexandra Hart, Bret (The Hitman) Hart’s daughter, opened a restaurant called Hart Healthy Food in Calgary in October 2019, which suddenly closed on Dec 20, 2019. Some employees claimed they were owed thousands in wages that were never paid.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In her 2001 book Under the Mat, Diana Hart made numerous claims about her family including her mother's alcoholism and allegations of rape by her husband Davey Boy Smith (see Under the Mat).


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In February 2020, Teddy Hart, grandchild of Stu and Helen Hart, was arrested and charged with three counts of possession, possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, and possession with intent to sell and distribute. Teddy Hart remains incarcerated while awaiting trial.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Helen Smith Hart was the daughter of noted marathoner and sprinter Harry J. Smith, finished 17th in the 1912 Olympic marathon and married a Greek woman, Elizabeth "Ellie" Poulis Smith


title: Hart wrestling family

text: In December 2011, Jade Hart, the eldest child of Bret Hart, launched a clothing line called "Jade Hart Kimonos". Based out of Calgary the clothing line consisted of handmade kimono made from Canadian silks and other fabrics. The business suspended operations in 2013.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Georgia Hart Annis is an employee at the Cookbook Co. in Calgary. She at one point helped her niece Jennifer Neidhart to get a job there too and Neidhart is now manager of catering for the Cookbook Co.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Brit and her husband Jamie are also involved in the restaurant business, they both work for the Rouge restaurant in Calgary.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: B. J. Annis, husband of Georgia Hart and father of Teddy Hart has operated BJ's Gym in Downtown East Village, Calgary since constructing it in 1971. The gym was a place for Stampede Wrestling's workers to train. In November 2011, his daughter Angie Annis staged an art exhibition at the gymnasium prior to the establishment closing its doors.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: Lindsay Hart, daughter of Alison Hart and Ben Bassarab, works as a make up artist and has worked on her cousin Natalie Neidhart on the reality show "Total Divas", as well as working backstage for Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling. Natalya and her husband Tyson Kidd are featured heavily on "Total Divas". Family members including Bret, his wife Stephanie, Ellie, Jim and Jennifer Neidhart as well as Kristen, Lachlan and Maddox Culbreth have all appeared on occasion.


title: Hart wrestling family

text: "Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology" is a documentary produced and released by WWE Home Video in collaboration with Hart family members. The DVD chronicles the lineage of the Hart family beginning with the biography of patriarch Stu Hart. It gives a brief accounting of the lives of all twelve Hart children as well as parents Stu and Helen growing up in Calgary. It describes the deaths of Stu, Helen, Dean, Matthew, Owen, Brian Pillman, and Davey Boy Smith with recollections from their loved ones. The DVD concludes with a feature on the Hart Dynasty and their future in WWE. The bonus discs feature matches from Stampede Wrestling and WWF/WWE as well as candid home footage and interviews from the Hart family.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Following the tradition of the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees, commemorative events were held throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. In comparison to the previous Golden Jubilee, events in the United Kingdom were significantly scaled back due to the economic policies of the governing Conservative Party deeming excessive cost to the taxpayer amidst widespread austerity as inappropriate.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the United Kingdom and other members of the royal family toured the rest of the Commonwealth as the monarch's representatives. The Jubilee celebrations marked the beginning of the withdrawal of the Duke of Edinburgh from public life and a more prominent role for the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry in Commonwealth affairs.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Numerous events and tributes were held over the year and throughout the Commonwealth, culminating in a jubilee pageant held in London. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust was set up as a charitable foundation with a mission to leave a lasting legacy across the Commonwealth. Other projects included the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood and the issuing of commemorative medals.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: At the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which was officially launched in the UK on 6 February 2012. Chaired by former British prime minister Sir John Major, the trust was intended to support charitable organisations and projects across the Commonwealth of Nations, focusing on areas such as cures for diseases and the promotion of all types of culture and education. In early 2012, Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard announced the Australian Crown-in-Council would make an A$5.4 million contribution to the trust and the New Zealand Crown-in-Council later made a similar $1 million donation. The Canadian government announced in April that former prime minister Jean Chrétien would be Canada's representative to the organisation.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In February 2012, a senior advisor was quoted as saying the Queen set two guidelines for the planning of her jubilee: the use of public funds should be minimised and people should not "be forced to celebrate". The first major international event of the jubilee celebrations was the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, also branded "The World Comes to Windsor", a cavalcade held at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Queen's visits to and tours of over 250 countries, as well as her passion for horses. The show, which featured 550 horses and 1,100 performers from around the world, was performed in the evenings between 10 and 13 May, after the daytime events of the annual Royal Windsor Horse Show had taken place. The Queen attended the final night.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 18 May, the Queen hosted an informal lunch at Windsor Castle for more than twenty current or former monarchs from other countries. In the evening of the same day, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall hosted a dinner that most of the monarchs also attended, although the Queen herself was not present. Criticism was directed at the presence of the King of Bahrain at the lunch, because of alleged repression of protests against the government of Bahrain in that country in 2011. In London, protesters against the King assembled outside Buckingham Palace during the dinner, although he did not attend that event.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The lighting of thousands of beacons across the Commonwealth took place on 4 June. The number of beacons was originally set at 2,012, to mark the year 2012. In the end, beacons of more than double that number were lit. The first beacon of the Jubilee was lit on the grounds of Apifo'ou College in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, by Tongan girl and Boy Scouts using coconut sheath torches. Other nations, including Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, India, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and several Caribbean states, took part in the beacon lighting. The world's most remote beacon was lit in Tristan da Cunha in the south Atlantic, using invasive, non-native plants to fuel the fire. In the United Kingdom, British servicemen and women wounded in battle and individuals representing charities carried beacons to the summits of the UK's four highest peaks. The Queen lit the beacon outside Buckingham Palace at 10:30 pm. The lighting proceeded until the final beacon was lit in Canada eight hours later.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was hospitalised with a bladder infection on 4 June and thus was not able to attend any of the official events. In his speech given at the conclusion of the Diamond Jubilee Concert, the Prince of Wales commented on the sadness of his father's absence and urged the crowd to cheer loud enough for the Duke to hear in hospital. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, stated after visiting his father that the latter was watching the celebrations on television. The Queen visited the Duke the following day.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: That same evening, a pre-recorded message by the Queen was released and aired on television around the world.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 6 and 7 March, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, visited Antigua and Barbuda to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The Earl and Countess arrived in Nelson's Dockyard on Motor Yacht Leander on the morning of 6 March. They were greeted by Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, and members of Parliament. The couple then visited the Copper and Lumber Store Hotel where they met with prominent Antiguans and Barbudans. Following that, the Earl and the Countess toured the Dockyard Museum and saw the "Royal Palm" that the Queen planted in the Dockyard in 1966.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A tree planting ceremony in Nelson's Dockyard, was followed by a tour of the Dow's Hill Interpretation Centre at Shirley Heights. The afternoon concluded with a lunch at the Admiral's Inn in Nelson's Dockyard hosted by the Prime Minister. On Tuesday evening, the Governor-General hosted an official State Dinner for the couple at the Mill Reef Club. During the second day of their visit, the Earl and the Countess visited institutions which were related to their personal charity work. The Countess visited the Children's Ward at Mount Saint John's Medical Centre, Princess Margaret School, and the Adele School for Special Children in St. John's, while the Earl visited the Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme and the Antigua Grammar School. To close their visit to Antigua and Barbuda, Prince Edward and Countess Sophie enjoyed a Diamond Jubilee Lunch at the Jumby Bay Resort on Long Island.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In June, lighting of a Jubilee Beacon and a Jubilee Service of Thanksgiving also took place in Antigua and Barbuda. 50 Antiguan and Barbudan citizens were presented with the Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor-General.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia, announced that the Diamond Jubilee would be celebrated "with a host of national and community events throughout the Commonwealth." In a similar vein, it was said in late 2011 that the government of Queensland was planning to declare a holiday in June 2012 to mark the jubilee.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Royal Australian Mint announced in August 2011 that it would be releasing a silver proof 50-cent coin to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Australia Post issued a series of special stamps to mark the occasion.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Paying tribute to Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia in the House of Representatives on 6 February 2012, Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard stated the Queen was a revered figure in Australia. Gillard also announced that she would on 4 June light a beacon atop Parliament House and that a street in the parliamentary triangle in Canberra would be renamed "Queen Elizabeth Terrace". Meanwhile, Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett announced on 28 May that a new waterfront development in Perth would be named Elizabeth Quay in the Queen's honour.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A detachment of the New South Wales Mounted Police performed at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant held at Windsor Castle in May 2012. At the end of the same month, Prince Charles presented Diamond Jubilee medals to those in the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, including three Australian Victoria Cross recipients.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A special ecumenical service was conducted in St James' Church, Sydney, at which the invited preacher was Cardinal George Pell and the Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir, was the guest of honour. The Anglican Church of Australia also held a service of prayer and thanksgiving to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee at St John's Cathedral in Brisbane, on 20 May 2012. The service was welcomed by Phillip Aspinall, Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, and the Homily was given by Mark Coleridge, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane. The guest of honour was the Governor of Queensland, Penelope Wensley, and Ian Walker represented the Queensland Cabinet.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In Brisbane, the newly built Supreme and District Court building was named after the Queen to mark the Diamond Jubilee.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Between 5 and 10 November 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, toured the country, travelling to Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince Harry toured The Bahamas. There, he attended a reception for youth leaders and met with Governor-General of the Bahamas Sir Arthur Foulkes. The Prince attended an outdoor ceremony where children's schools, clubs, and associations presented themselves and delivered a speech at Government House.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: To mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the country hosted the Queen's youngest son and his wife, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, between 23 and 24 February 2012. The tour began with the Earl and Countess arriving, aboard RFA "Fort Rosalie", at the Deep Water Harbour of Bridgetown, where Barbadian military personnel were given inspection. To a joint sitting of the Parliament of Barbados, the Earl read a written message from the Queen, in which the monarch stated she has taken note of the level of development Barbados had achieved during its 45 years of independence and called the country a model small state for others around the world. Parliamentary officials responded with thanks to the Queen for her service to the country and Barbadians and invited her to the island to celebrate the 375th anniversary of the establishment of the Barbadian parliament in 2014. The visiting royal couple opened an exhibit at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, and an official state dinner and reception was held at Government House in the evening.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The following day, the Countess visited the Albert C. Graham Children's Development Centre at Ladymeade Gardens, while the Earl presented eight Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Awards to Barbadian youth at a dedication ceremony. Directly following, the couple travelled together to a ceremony to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee, where a plaque was unveiled at the Kensington Oval cricket stadium. Other events included the Earl and Countess lunching with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart at his residence, Ilaro Court, and touring several areas of Bridgetown that were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 2011.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: As in other Commonwealth realms, a set of commemorative Diamond Jubilee stamps were released by the Barbados Postal Service. An ecumenical thanksgiving service was held at the St. Mary's Anglican Church in Bridgetown on 3 June and a beacon lighting at the Garrison Savannah the following day, where an official Trooping of the Colour was performed by the Barbados Defence Force and military tattoo performed by the Royal Barbados Police Force. Members of the Barbados Boys Scout Association with high honours were chosen to aid in the actual beacon lighting.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In Belize, the Governor-General-in-Council and the Belize Tourism Board organised a tour of the country by Prince Harry, between 2 and 3 March 2012, as part of the country's celebrations of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Harry visited Belmopan and San Ignacio where ceremonies and events had less emphasis on state protocol. In the capital, Harry unveiled a series of commemorative stamps issued by the Belize Postal Service, attended the city's street festival, and dedicated a street as "Queen Elizabeth II Boulevard", where he delivered a speech on the sovereign's behalf.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Forethought on the anniversary began as early as April 2007, when then-Secretary of State for Canadian Heritage Jason Kenney requested the various lieutenant governors begin preparations for the jubilee. Three years later, the question of a national holiday to mark the jubilee was raised in the media and a series of official announcements were made by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Secretary to the Queen, Kevin S. MacLeod, was charged by the Governor General-in-Council to head the Diamond Jubilee Committee (DJC)—a 14-member group of individuals drawn from the provincial and territorial governments, non-governmental organisations, officials from the Departments of Citizenship and Immigration, National Defence, and Canadian Heritage (DCH), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police—that oversaw the organisation of the country's fêtes for Elizabeth II's 60 years as Queen of Canada. Similarly, Premier of Alberta Ed Stelmach in February 2011 tasked the Alberta Chief of Protocol and the Private Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta to form and head a committee to develop plans for the province's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. As with other royal events, the DCH played a large role in organisation and planning. $7.5 million of resources, granted to the DCH in the previous budget approved by the federal parliament, was allocated for federal jubilee celebrations, education and awareness, and distribution to community groups; $2 million was for events in the Queen's honour and $3.7 million was allocated for the Diamond Jubilee medal. The total amount was reduced by Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore from the DJC's original estimate of $8.8 million.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Queen, on 3 July 2010, dedicated the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens outside her official residence in Manitoba and there planted an Amber Jubilee Ninebark shrub, the cultivar having been created specifically for the Diamond Jubilee. At Rideau Hall in Ottawa, she also, on 30 June, unveiled a commemorative stained glass window depicting herself and Queen Victoria with their respective royal cyphers and renditions of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament during the reign of each monarch. The window, a gift from the Canadian Senate, was installed above the Senate entrance to the Centre Block and dedicated by Governor General David Johnston on 7 February 2012.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A corbel within the Sovereigns' Arches of the Senate foyer was sculpted into a rendition of the Queen and unveiled on 9 December 2010 by the Governor General. The Royal Canadian Mint also issued an "extensive set" of coins to mark the anniversary. Further, the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery (RRCA) in 2011 presented the Queen, their captain-general since 1952, with a diamond and gold brooch, made by Birks & Mayors in the form of the regiment's cap badge, and announced the creation of The Captain General's Diamond Jubilee Bursary Award for educational activities of members of the RRCA and family.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Diamond Jubilee Week began on Accession Day (6 February) 2012. That day, the monarch's personal standard for Canada was unfurled at Rideau Hall and on Parliament Hill, as well as at provincial royal residences and legislatures across the country; permission was granted by the Queen to break the usual protocol of flying the banner only where the sovereign is physically present. At noon on the same day, the Peace Tower carillon played a tribute to Elizabeth II. The Prime Minister and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada issued statements commending the Queen for her six decades of "dedicated service to our country, to the Commonwealth and to the world."


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Also on 6 and 7 February, the first of the 60,000 Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals to be distributed to citizens and permanent residents were handed out by lieutenant governors, commissioners, and other dignitaries across the country; 60 individuals were given theirs personally by the Governor General at Rideau Hall. All federal Members of Parliament (MPs) received the award automatically and a few refused, some because they belonged to the Quebec separatist Bloc Québécois, and one because he felt the money being spent by the Crown on jubilee events and markers was a waste. Citizens for a Canadian Republic claimed that day that the government's spending of money on the Queen's jubilee was to be expected "from the personality cult dynasties of North Korea or Syria". The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society claimed it would stage "counter-celebrations".


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In Nova Scotia, the provincial government announced the establishment of educational programmes related to the Queen and her role in Canadian government and the one-time award of the $2000 Diamond Jubilee Award Scholarship to 60 Grade 12 students in the province. There and in other provinces and territories, various events were held on Accession Day, other days during Diamond Jubilee Week, and past its end. The Speaker of the Senate, Noël Kinsella, and Speaker of the House of Commons, Andrew Scheer, were received by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 21 February 2012, where they presented a loyal address to the sovereign. The Canadian Postal Museum also opened on 19 March the exhibition Designed for a Queen, which displayed 645 postal portraits of the Queen from Canada, other Commonwealth of Nations countries, and British Overseas Territories.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, toured parts of the country in May, making stops in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. In an editorial he wrote for "The Globe and Mail", Charles stated he wanted his activities during the tour to reflect the jubilee's "central theme of service to others" and expressed that he was "returning to Canada in this special Jubilee year, to renew my own pledge of service and to encourage others to consider how they might contribute their own particular talent". In that vein, he in all three provinces visited with people associated with his organisation The Prince's Charities Canada and presented Diamond Jubilee Medals to recipients.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The couple arrived at Saint John Airport on the evening of 20 May. The following day, they were formally welcomed by the Governor General and met at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown with young Canadian Forces veterans and mentors involved in the Military Entrepreneurship program before moving on to Saint John. There, they undertook a walking tour of Prince William Street to observe heritage projects and meet the 2002 Committee for the Prince of Wales Municipal Heritage Leadership Prize, participated in a citizenship ceremony, attended Victoria Day events, and opened the Diamond Jubilee IT Centre at Hazen-White-St. Francis School. They then flew on to Toronto to meet with emergency workers and their families and observe the annual fireworks show at Ashbridges Bay that marks Victoria Day and the Queen's official Canadian birthday.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 22 May, the couple attended an event hosted by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley, at Queen's Park. After, the Duchess visited The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, of which she is colonel-in-chief, laying at the armoury a wreath in memory of fallen Canadian soldiers, while the Prince of Wales saw the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University, toured the construction site of the athletes' village for the 2015 Pan American Games (where Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty announced a portion of Front Street running through the village would be named "Diamond Jubilee Promenade"), visited the Yonge Street Mission, and met with the national leadership of the Assembly of First Nations. The couple also attended a luncheon hosted by the government of Ontario and participated in a Canadian Forces event at Fort York commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the Prince there wearing his uniform of a lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: They arrived in Regina on 23 May and marked the centenary of Saskatchewan's legislative building, participated in a reception held by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan at Government House, toured the First Nations University of Canada, and visited an environmentally friendly water purification plant. In the evening, the Prince and Duchess attended at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Depot Division Drill Hall a performance of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, of which Prince Charles is patron. There, the Prime Minister announced that Charles was to be appointed Honorary Commissioner of the RCMP, taking the post from his mother, the Queen, who became the RCMP's Commissioner-in-Chief.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin, an open anti-monarchist, stated in the House of Commons that the tour was "a bread-and-circuses routine" intended to distract from cuts to the federal civil service. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, said the tour would be the "least expensive for taxpayers" of those that had taken place since 2009.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: At the Queen's request, members of the RCMP's Musical Ride, after performing in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle, took part in the Changing of the Guard on 23 May as they formed the Queen's Life Guard outside Buckingham Palace for 24 hours. Said by the contingent's commander to be a "way for Canada and the Mounties to salute her Majesty the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year", it was the second time the RCMP had performed the task since doing so as a part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria in 1897.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In the federal parliament on 31 May, a loyal address to the Queen was passed. The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba held a Diamond Jubilee garden party at the province's Government House on 26 May. The Royal British Columbia Museum on 1 June opened an exhibition of approximately 100 Cecil Beaton photographs of Elizabeth II throughout her life.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A team of Canadian and British mountaineers reached the summit of Mount Barbeau, in Canada's arctic, by 3 June and there held a tea party in celebration of the jubilee. From the summit, they sent a loyal greeting to the Queen via satellite, to which the monarch promised to reply. The next day, a group from the Royal Canadian Dragoons stationed in Afghanistan climbed with British soldiers to the peak of the 7,000 foot mountain Gharib Ghar, within the Kabul Military Training Center, "as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II."


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In the United Kingdom, Canada House held a Big Jubilee Lunch on 3 June and two beacons were lit on the building's roof the following evening, the night of the Diamond Jubilee Concert. Johnston attended both events and Harper was at the latter. Another reception was held at Canada House on the evening of 6 June, at which the Governor General and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, were present.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Harper was granted an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 5 June. Also at the palace, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and the Queen unveiled a new portrait of the sovereign commissioned by the federal Crown-in-Council and painted by Canadian painter Phil Richards. The creation of the portrait became the subject of a National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary directed by Hubert Davis and released in the fall of 2012 as part of the NFB's "Queen's Diamond Jubilee Collector's Edition". The painting was on 25 June installed in the ballroom at Rideau Hall. Dedicated at the same time by the Governor General were new bronze and glass handrails, with detailing evoking the Diamond Jubilee, flanking the ceremonial staircase in Rideau Hall's main entrance foyer.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 12 June 2012, the government of the Northwest Territories (NWT) and the City of Yellowknife held at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre a garden party with barbecue, concert, and other activities. On 14 June, Amber Jubilee Ninebark shrubs were planted on the grounds of the NWT legislative assembly. Four days later, a gala concert was held at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, at which 600 diamond jubilee medals were awarded to members of the Order of Canada and Order of Ontario. The event, hosted by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, was attended by the Governor General and his wife and performers included the Famous People Players, Susan Aglukark, Molly Johnson, Ben Heppner, and Gordon Lightfoot, who conceived the idea of the event.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan held a garden party at Government House on Canada Day and, in the Northwest Territories, the Canada Day parade was themed to celebrate the jubilee and numerous jubilee medal presentation ceremonies took place. Also on 1 July, the Canadian Museum of Civilization opened the exhibit "A Queen and Her Country", showing artefacts from the Crown Collection relating to Queen Elizabeth II and her role as Queen of Canada, including the Queen's Beasts from her coronation. At Rideau Hall on 11 September, a reception, attended by the Governor General; his wife; Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; Sophie, Countess of Wessex; and others, was held for the Royal Victorian Order Association of Canada and to "honour of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne." The Earl also distributed Diamond Jubilee Medals to recipients in Toronto and to members of the RCMP in Iqaluit, Nunavut. The government of the Northwest Territories held through September an essay contest for youth to explain "how the Queen is important to First Nations and Métis people."


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A conference on the Canadian Crown was conducted in Saskatchewan on 25 October. The Governor General the following day unveiled a plaque identifying the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Trail, a part of the Trans Canada Trail between the West Block on Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court of Canada. In Nova Scotia, highway 106 was renamed as "Jubilee Highway". Communities across Canada also held events to mark the jubilee, as did the federal government until the jubilee celebration ended on Accession Day 2013.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On Accession Day, Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen sent a congratulatory message to the Queen in which he said that the Queen's reign was marked by "wisdom, dedication and integrity". Allen said that the Queen had an "extraordinary knowledge and interest in Commonwealth and Caribbean Affairs", which he greatly admires.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 3 June, a boat parade and yacht race at the north side of the Kingston Harbour was held to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The event was organised by the Royal Jamaica Yacht Club to coincide with the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in London.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 4 June, communities across Western Jamaica celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, at the Montego Bay Civic Centre, in Sam Sharpe Square, St. James. Tributes included popular and gospel songs, and performances by schoolchildren. The Custos of St. James, Ewen Corrodus, described the occasion as fitting for "an icon who has been a part of Jamaica's life for 60 years". A Jubilee beacon was also lit by Corrodus. The mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Glendon Harris, congratulated the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee said that the Jubilee should be used for forgiveness and reconciliation between individuals and communities, and called for continued growth for Jamaica.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 4 June, four beacons were lit at central points across Jamaica, in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The beacons were lit at St. William Grant Park in Kingston; Montego Bay Civic Centre, St. James; Seville Heritage Park, St. Ann; and at the Port Antonio town centre in Portland. At the beacon lighting in Kingston, Prime Minister Simpson-Miller paid tribute to the Queen and said that during the times when the Queen graced the Jamaican shores, the people of Jamaica found in her a truly "royal personality" filled with warmth and good wishes for the people of Jamaica. The beacons were designed by the Jamaica Defence Force and built by students from the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI). All beacons were lit simultaneously at 10:00 p.m. at each location, and remained lit for 24 hours.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 10 June, a church service was held at the St. Andrew Parish Church. A Diamond Jubilee Prayer, which was written at the Queen's direction, was used at the church service in Jamaica.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: An exhibition was held in June, which showcased the Queen's visits to Jamaica, the recipients of awards presented by the Queen, and other things.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Commemorative Diamond Jubilee Medals were awarded by Governor-General Allen to members of the armed forces, emergency services and prison service personnel of Jamaica.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Governor-General and his wife travelled to London to participate in various events there in June, including a reception held by the High Commissioner of Jamaica to the UK. Jamaica's Diamond Jubilee celebrations proceeded despite Portia Simpson-Miller's ongoing work to have the country become a republic.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince Harry toured Jamaica between 5 and 8 March 2012, participating in various events marking his grandmother's Diamond Jubilee. During the tour, the Prince partook in military exercises with the Jamaica Defence Force, visited Bustamante Hospital for Children and, in Trelawny Parish, visited Water Square, Falmouth Pier, and the William Knibb Baptist Church, where he paid respect at the William Knibb memorial. The Prince attended an event for the charity Rise Life, ran with Usain Bolt at the latter's training ground at the University of the West Indies, Mona. There, he was also named an Honorary Fellow of the university. A Jamaica Night reception was held at the Royal Caribbean Hotel in Montego Bay and Governor-General of Jamaica Sir Patrick Allen hosted a dinner at King's House as a combined celebration of the Diamond Jubilee and Jamaica's 50th anniversary of independence. The Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, stated the tour was intended to "highlight the country's tourism developments on the North Coast and the important work being done in the area of youth and children."


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Sir Jerry Mateparae, the Governor-General of New Zealand, unveiled New Zealand's Diamond Jubilee emblem on 27 November 2011, and announced at that time that a full programme would be forthcoming.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The diamond shape of the emblem is an allusion to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and the colour alludes to New Zealand's highly prized pounamu. The emblem features the Queen's royal cypher, and koru (which often features in Māori art) is used in the form of those on the chain of The New Zealand Order of Merit. The chain links represents the role of the Sovereign as a part of the New Zealand constitution and the historic links between the Crown and Maori.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The gold in the emblem represents value and achievement, whereas the manuka flowers relate to the Badge of The Queen's Service Order (QSO) which is based on stylised representation of this flower. Manuka and manuka honey are well known for their health enhancing properties.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: New Zealand Post and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand issued a silver proof dollar coin to celebrate the jubilee in February 2012, and in the same month the Ministry for Culture and Heritage added Crown-related entries to "" and an essay on the jubilee to NZ.History.net.nz. The New Zealand post also issued sets of Diamond Jubilee stamps showing images of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip throughout her reign.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prime Minister John Key moved a motion in the House of Representatives congratulating the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee on 7 February. The Governor-General-in-Council also launched, two days later, via the Ministry of Health, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Research Grant, "seeking to purchase research projects that transfer knowledge from initiatives with proven effectiveness, into practice in the health sector".


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The New Zealand Army Band took part in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant held at Windsor Castle and also took part in the changing of guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace. In New Zealand, "New Zealand Herald" opinion columnist Jim Hopkins was critical of the jubilee celebrations held over the Queen's Birthday weekend, calling it a "missed opportunity". He was also critical of TVNZ's lack of jubilee related content in its daily news broadcast.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A royal tour was undertaken by Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, between 10 and 16 November 2012. travelling to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Manawatu. Their programme is to focus on excellence and innovation in business, agriculture, community service, and sports, as well as children's literacy and animal health.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, toured Papua New Guinea between 3 and 5 November.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Prince of Wales spoke to crowds in Port Moresby in the pidgin language of Tok Pisin, referring to himself as 'namawan pikinini bilong misis kwinn' (the number one child of The Queen). He and delivered greetings from The Queen in Tok Pisin: ""Mi bringim bikpela tok hamamas bilong mejesti kwin Papua Niugini na olgeta haus lain bilong mi lon dispela taim bilong Diamon Jubili misis kwin. Mi tokpisin olrite?"" (I bring you greetings from Her Majesty the Queen of Papua New Guinea and from all my family members during this celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen. Was my Pisin correct?).


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: During their time in the country, the Prince and the Duchess met church, charity, and community volunteers, cultural groups, and members of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in and near Port Moresby.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Historical re-enactments were put on in Saint Kitts and Nevis for the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who arrived on 3 March 2012. There, the couple met with Governor-General Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, and other dignitaries, watched cultural shows (including the performance of a calypso song about the Queen), and the Earl unveiled a plaque commemorating the Diamond Jubilee and officially designated the Basseterre Valley Park as the Royal Basseterre Valley Park. They also visited Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park and the children's ward of the JNF Hospital and the Children's Home before attending a state dinner and fireworks display at Port Zante.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy hosted a Charity Banquet and Ball at Government House on 9 June to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The event included a gourmet charity dinner, followed by dancing to the accompaniment of a full orchestra by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Band. The event was held under the theme "A Diamond Moment In Time?". The proceeds of the event went towards several charities supported by Government House.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a Diamond Jubilee Celebrations Committee was established to oversee events staged to mark, between February and June 2012, the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The committee head, former Minister of Culture Rene Baptiste, stated the aim was to "showcase what we have to offer, as well as our loyalty to the Parliament..." The Earl and Countess of Wessex, aboard RFA "Fort Rosalie", arrived for their tour of country on 25 February and visited the restored Botanic Gardens St. Vincent and planted a Pink Poui tree, attended an official lunch at Government House, and planted Royal Palms on the Grenadines.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Trade unionist Noel Jackson said he heard displeasure expressed by Vincentians towards the royal tour and that "a lot of people were cursing." Senator Julian Francis, the General Secretary of the governing Unity Labour Party, stated the public reaction to the presence of the royal couple "confirmed to me that we could not have won the 2009 referendum on a republic. The outpouring of the people in St. Vincent to come and greet Prince Edward yesterday confirmed to me that people, in the majority in St. Vincent, still want the monarchy... It was like a carnival in town yesterday."


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A Diamond Jubilee Lecture was delivered in March, a flower show and tea party was held at Government House on 4 and 5 May, a stamp exhibition was mounted at the National Trust headquarters and an exhibition of photographs of the Queen in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was displayed at the National Public Library. A Queen's Birthday parade took place, as did a Diamond Jubilee Beacon Event on 4 June, part of the wider plan to light such beacons at the same time across the Commonwealth.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: As with the Golden Jubilee in 2002, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was responsible for coordinating the Cabinet-led aspects of the celebrations. Events were planned so as to keep the use of tax money to a minimum; most funds used to fund celebrations were drawn from private donors and sponsors. Only the cost of security was by Her Majesty's Treasury. The British logo for the Diamond Jubilee was selected through a contest held by the BBC children's programme "Blue Peter"; the winning design, announced in February 2011, was created by ten-year-old Katherine Dewar.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 5 January 2010, the Lord President of the Council and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced that an extra bank holiday would take place on 5 June 2012. Moving the Spring Bank Holiday (the last Monday in May) to 4 June resulted in a four-day holiday in honour of the Diamond Jubilee. As national holidays are a devolved matter, Scotland's first minister confirmed that the bank holiday would be held on 5 June in Scotland. Some economists later theorised that the holiday could reduce the country's gross domestic product by 0.5% in the second quarter of the year, though this would be partially offset by increased sales for the hospitality and merchandise sectors.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Many events were staged in London during the bank holiday weekend. The River Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was held on 3 June; a maritime parade of 1,000 boats from around the Commonwealth—the largest flotilla seen on the river in 350 years—together with other celebrations along the river banks. Heavy rain started during the event and the commemorative airforce flyover at the end was cancelled due to very low cloud base and bad visibility at ground level. Along with almost all members of the royal family, various governors-general from the Commonwealth realms other than the UK were in attendance. The Diamond Jubilee Concert, with a preceding afternoon picnic in the palace gardens for the 10,000 concert ticket holders, was held the following day, in front of Buckingham Palace, and featured acts representing each decade of the Queen's 60-year reign.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Street parties were permitted to take place across the country. Special community lottery grants, called "The Jubilee People's Millions", are being offered by the Big Lottery Fund and ITV.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Members of the royal family, governors-general, and prime ministers from the Commonwealth realms were present at various functions held on 4 and 5 June: A reception took place at Buckingham Palace before the Diamond Jubilee Concert and a national service of thanksgiving was conducted the following day at St. Paul's Cathedral, also attended by 2,000 other guests. Will Todd's anthem "The Call of Wisdom", commissioned specially for this event, was performed by the Diamond Choir, made up of about 40 children from around the UK. The Archbishop of Canterbury dedicated his sermon to the Queen, during which he noted her "lifelong dedication" and stated that she "has made her 'public' happy and all the signs are that she is herself happy, fulfilled and at home in these encounters." Afterwards, a formal lunch was held in Westminster Hall. The Queen returned to Buckingham Palace at 2:20 pm, in an open top carriage procession and escorted by The Household Cavalry Regiment. Another reception was held at London's Guildhall and a luncheon took place at Lancaster House, hosted by the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. A reception solely for governors-general was held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The weekend of celebrations ended with a balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace. The Queen appeared on the balcony with the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry in front of cheering crowds outside the palace and along The Mall. There followed a feu de joie and a flypast by the Red Arrows and historic aircraft, including the last flying Lancaster bomber in Britain. Several media commentators commented on the significance of only senior members of the royal family appearing on the balcony. BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt remarked that it "sent a message demonstrating both continuity and restraint at a time of austerity".


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: To mark the jubilee, the Queen bestowed Royal Borough status on Greenwich, in southeast London. In addition, a competition was held to grant in 2012 city status to towns and either a lord mayoralty or lord provostship to one city. City status was awarded to Chelmsford in England, Perth in Scotland and St Asaph in Wales. Armagh, Northern Ireland, was awarded the Lord Mayoralty.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Olympic Park in East London, created for the 2012 London Olympics, was named the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park following the Olympics. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge (Queen Elizabeth Fields Challenge in Scotland) was a project of the charity Fields in Trust to safeguard parks and green spaces as public recreation land in perpetuity for future generations to enjoy, and to provide a permanent legacy of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. The Woodland Trust planned to establish 60 Jubilee woodlands during 2011 and 2012, one of almost 500 acres – Flagship Diamond Wood, Leicestershire – and the remainder 60 acres each.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A stained glass window, paid for by MPs and members of the House of Lords, was unveiled in the Queen's presence at Westminster Hall in March 2012. In addition, a majority of MPs endorsed the renaming of the clock tower of Westminster Palace that houses Big Ben, to the Elizabeth Tower.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Royal Jubilee Bells, made for the Jubilee and a feature of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, were delivered to the church of St James Garlickhythe in the City of London on 15 June 2012 and arranged along the central aisle. They were dedicated by the Rt Revd John Waine on Sunday 17 June and hanging commenced in the tower shortly thereafter. They were rung for the first time in the church on 4 July.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Royal Mint issued a number of coins including an official £5 coin, a 5oz coin and a kilo coin. A five-pound sterling silver coin was issued by the Government of Gibraltar to mark the occasion.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: In October 2012 it was announced that the Queen would bestow the honorary title of Regius Professorship to up to six university chairs in the United Kingdom, to recognise "excellence in teaching and research"; the number was chosen to represent the decades of the Queen's reign. The full list was announced on 29 January 2013 and comprised twelve new chairs, in recognition of the "exceptionally high quality" of the departments considered.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Kew Gardens announced that the Main Gate, the entrance to the gardens from Kew Green, was to be renamed Elizabeth Gate in honour of the Queen. Princess Alexandra attended the naming ceremony on 21 October 2012.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 18 December 2012, the British Foreign Office announced that a portion of the British Antarctic Territory was to be named Queen Elizabeth Land in honour of Her Majesty in her diamond jubilee year.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A seemingly less permanent tribute that gained widespread popularity was a work provided by street artist Banksy. His "Slave Labour" stencil on a north London wall offered pointed criticism of the jubilee celebrations and the conditions that support British nationalism. The mural's removal and subsequent attempted sale at auction in February 2013 sparked international controversy, highlighting the piece's worth to local and regional residents. Its title, perhaps coincidentally, conjured another contentious part of the celebrations where unemployed workers, bussed into London on an allegedly unpaid trial to staff security for the event, were made to work under what some described as "appalling" conditions.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On Accession Day, 6 February, a 62-gun salute was mounted on the banks of the River Thames, near the Tower of London and the Queen made a visit to Norfolk, one of the first places the monarch visited after acceding to the throne. Later in the month, Queen Elizabeth attended a multi-faith (Bahá'í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian) reception held at the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth Palace, in honour of the jubilee.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Queen addressed both houses of parliament in Westminster Hall on 20 March 2012. Also in March, the Royal Commonwealth Society launched the Jubilee Time Capsule to mark the jubilee. The British Broadcasting Corporation and Andrew Marr created the television documentary "The Diamond Queen", in which various members of the royal family and current and former politicians spoke about the sovereign and her life. The documentary was criticised by the campaign group Republic, which argued that it breached BBC guidelines on impartiality.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: At Buckingham Palace, a display of the Queen's diamonds was opened to the public. On 4 June, the bells in each of the 34 church bell towers along the River Welland valley rang in succession, ending with the ringing of the bell at Fosdyke 60 times.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: On 19 May, the Queen attended the Diamond Jubilee Armed Forces Parade and Muster, the British Armed Forces' own tribute to the monarch, in Windsor Castle and nearby Home Park. The first time all three services had assembled for the Queen for such an event at the same time, it featured military reviews and a 2,500 strong military parade through the town, as well as a military flypast featuring 78 aircraft.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: A Nowka Bais competition in Oxford was dedicated to the Diamond Jubilee. The Queen issued a statement on the event and expressed her interest about the Bengali sporting tradition to the event organisers.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, toured the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in March 2012. On Montserrat, he met participants in the Sailability BVI programme, including Special Olympics medallists, and staff and associates of the Eslyn Henley Ritchie Learning Centre, BVI Technical and Vocational Institute, BVI Services, and the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, between 11 and 13 June 2012, and Montserrat. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation expressed "upset and concern" about the couple's tour of Gibraltar, which Spain claims as Spanish territory.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visited the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: The Queen's realms throughout the Caribbean and West Indies planned a number of Diamond Jubilee events. Using RFA "Fort Rosalie", Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited other Caribbean realms, including: Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Montserrat and Saint Lucia.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Visits were planned by Princess Anne to Zambia and Mozambique, while the Duke of Gloucester made official visits to Uganda and Malta. In Asia, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, visited India, while Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visited Malaysia, Singapore, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.


title: Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II

text: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited Trinidad and Tobago, as did Governor General of Canada David Johnston.