After years of planning, the coronation of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, is almost upon us.
The ceremony will take place at Westminster Abbey from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, where 2,000 guests including world leaders and dignitaries are expected to attend.
Royal fanatics have been camping for several days along The Mall, eager to secure a prime spot to watch the procession as it passes Buckingham Palace.
But if you’re planning on avoiding it and doing something else you may find you are disappointed. Here, we take a look at how the coronation is impacting everything from TV scheduling to transport and football.
TV
In 1953, many people gathered around newly purchased television sets to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Some 20 million people tuned in to watch it on the BBC, making it their largest broadcast event at the time.
To mark King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation, there will be wall-to-wall coverage, with BBC 1 and 2, ITV and Sky all broadcasting live.
Viewers will also be able to watch the coronation concert from Windsor Castle on Sunday night from 8pm via the BBC.
Channel 4 is opting for an alternative experience, broadcasting films including Johnny English and The Italian Job throughout the day.
Channel 5 will also be providing some respite, showing children-friendly alternatives Spongebob Squarepants and The Adventures of Paddington whilst the ceremony takes place.
Shops
No major shops or businesses – including supermarket chains – have announced any changes to their opening hours. Any businesses that are typically open on a Saturday are expected to operate as usual, including banks.
Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday hours will be continuing as usual.
Pubs
Pubs across the nation are set to mark the occasion, with those in England and Wales serving customers for an additional two hours a day between Friday and Sunday.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that licensing hours would be extended from 11pm to 1am to allow customers to “enjoy an extra pint or two” to mark the “momentous occasion”.
Football
As the Premier League continues, a number of men’s games have been moved.
Each of the 10 fixtures scheduled across the weekend will be played – but none during the coronation ceremony.
Originally scheduled to take place earlier on Saturday, the Liverpool vs Brentford match will now take place at 5.30pm. West Ham’s home game against Manchester United has also been shifted from Saturday to Sunday, whilst the Fulham vs Leicester match has been moved to Monday 8 May.
The only match to be played in London on Saturday is Tottenham vs Crystal Palace, with kick-off starting at 3pm to ease the crowds moving through the capital.
As for the Women’s Super League, there are no matches scheduled for Saturday. There are five games scheduled for Sunday – including Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool vs Manchester City – which will be going ahead as normal.
The Premier League has strongly advised all clubs to play the national anthem across this weekend’s matches, something Liverpool has confirmed it will be doing “in recognition” of the request.
“It is, of course, a personal choice how those at Anfield on Saturday mark this occasion and we know some supporters have strong views on it”, the club said.
Roads
Restrictions are in place in Westminster from 7pm on Friday 5 May.
Westminster Council has published a map detailing all the areas closed to vehicles, advising anyone wishing to travel into central London to use public transport.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport also sent letters to businesses and residents expected to be impacted by the road closures.
Public transport
To mark the occasion, Transport For London will be running all transport networks without disruption on Saturday 6 May. No engineering works are planned.
Night Tube and night overground services will also be running on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 May, though there will be some alterations to bus service routes and times, particularly those running through central London.
