One million had a street party for the royal wedding
1 million people enjoyed street parties on 29th April 2011. This was the biggest neighbours’ day since the previous royal wedding in 1981 and was a great boost for street sociability and neighbourliness, whether or not people were royal fans.
For many it is just an excuse as part of the great tradition which have for a century been linked with royal and other national events.
5500 formal road closures (825 in London) were arranged in traffic-free events, where all ages could meet together and kids can play for a change.
Also the high numbers of enquiries through this site showed that just as many people held informal ‘street meets’ without closing the road, as they wanted to organise something at the last minute. So with about an average of 80 people attending each one about 1 million people took part.
Streets Alive is proud to have made as many as half of these possible by working with the government and councils across the country in simplifying procedures and removing charges for road closures, as well as arguing against a requirement for insurance.
Many more would have been held if the wedding had been in the summer – planning in February when parts of the country were covered in snow was not helpful! This was the first national event not held in the summer since street parties started in 1919. See our royal wedding Facebook page.
Since then there has been happy news of a possible royal baby, which if all goes well, would provide another chance for street parties.
This tradition is so great for the country for building a sense of community spirit at the street level. Residents meet an average of 8 new neighbours, our research has shown. Also, most residents, up to 85%, attend which is unique compared to any other type of event.
In 2010 there were 150 street parties in Bristol, Streets Alive’s home town, 54 in Oxford and many elsewhere. We encourage such events to be held every year just for the social sake of it. This will depend on whether councils continue to not charge for road closures.
Streets Alive offers advice and training to residents and community workers in less confident communities to make sure they can join in.
Plan your street party with our guide for residents
