The big day has finally arrived, which means millions of flags will be waved, pints drunk and quiches eaten. Here is the coronation weekend in numbers.
Pubs: 62m pints of beer
After a torrid time, the pub trade hopes a new king will justify getting a round in, with predictions landlords will ring up an extra £120m. An estimated 62m pints will be sunk (17m more than usual) thanks to extended opening hours and the lure of special coronation ales behind the bar. Emma McClarkin, the chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “We hope people will mark this historic national celebration by visiting their local, one iconic British institution supporting another.”
Souvenirs: 3.8m cups and plates
With the last coronation a dim and distant memory the memorabilia industry has gone into overdrive to mark the coronation of King Charles III. From the fine bone china cups made by Halcyon Days in Stoke-on-Trent to the £4 mugs from Lidl there can be no doubt that the British public loves a royal keepsake. The nation is expected to spend nearly £250m on memorabilia, including 3.8m coronation mugs, cups and other crockery, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR)). Much of the merchandise riffs on tea and biscuits, with stores also expected to shift 10,000 commemorative teapots and millions of collectible biscuit tins. Marks & Spencer alone expects to sell more than 1m souvenir tea and shortbread tins.
Parties: 20,000 gatherings (and a lot of quiche)
This is the number of events logged on the official coronation website but analysts suggest that if unofficial knees-ups are included the tally is closer to 20,000. Parties and picnics need food and drink, of course, with retailers reporting a run on quiche, scones and fizz. There are some big sales numbers out there. Tesco thinks it will shift 9m bottles of wine, 180,000 bottles of Pimm’s, 600,000 scones and 675,000 pork pies this week.
In all, an extra £200m is expected to be spent on party food and drink. But if you don’t like quiche you might be in trouble. Tesco thinks it will sell 600,000 while Aldi and Lidl are also reporting bumper demand as shoppers pay homage to the official “coronation quiche”. Some people are even trying to make it (sales of tarragon and frozen broad beans are up 14% and 16% respectively at Tesco) while pastry firm BakeAway says sales of its readymade shortcrust have doubled in the past week.
Union flags: the bunting and bowler hats
The coronation is good news for the bunting business with ropes fluttering on many high streets and house fronts across Britain. Tesco expects to sell 270,000 rolls, which is enough to easily stretch from Land’s End to John o’Groats, while the North Yorkshire firm Flying Colours Flagmakers told the Guardian it had received some big bunting orders, including one for 22,500 metres.
With the union flag the only decorating scheme in town (by the end £20m will have been spent on flags, bunting and table decorations) the patriotic fervour doesn’t stop there. Tesco expects to sell 250,000 union flag bowler hats, crowns and face paint sets while the craft chain Hobbycraft says sales of its “coronation party bundle” (which includes latex balloons and a helium canister) had doubled in the last 10 days. Its £2 gold foam tiara was among the most sought after royal props.
