Queen’s jubilee: Red Arrows to join French navy planes at Le Touquet
The Channel coast resort hosts a ‘Meeting aérien’ today as royal Jubilee events get under way in France
The Red Arrows will finish off an aerial display which will also include French and Belgian teams
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Elite Royal Airforce acrobatics team the Red Arrows are to take part in an aerial display over Le Touquet today (May 28) to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
The event, from 13.30 to 16.30 at the seafront, is the first royal Jubilee-linked event being organised in France in partnership with the UK government.
The ‘Meeting aérien’ at the Hauts-de-France seaside resort will also include demonstrations by French military helicopters and navy planes, the Patrouille Pitts Belgian team and a demonstration of a rescue at sea.
Le Touquet tourist office events organiser Cécile François said: “The Red Arrows will be coming over from Greece and I think it’s their only visit to France this year.
“They won’t be landing. Nine pilots will be flying over the seafront, so people should watch from the beach or the embankment. They will be finishing the show.”
‘Historically Britons used to come here to the casino - it was illegal in the UK at the time’
She added: “We are marking the Jubilee as well as the 110th anniversary of our resort. It’s a message of friendship to the UK because there are very strong links between our town and the UK.
“It’s historical – the British played a role in the success of our resort; they used to come over the Channel to enjoy the delights of the casino, which was illegal in England at the time.
“They came to our luxury hotels and played polo, golf and tennis and enjoyed bathing in the sea.”
More events marking the Jubilee will be coming up in June, including a Great British Tea Party at the British Ambassador’s residence on Tuesday June 21 for the British community in France (booking details should be available soon) and a special ‘revival of the flame’ ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe at 18:00 on Thursday June 2.
The Embassy will also be holding its traditional (invitation-only) Queen’s Birthday Party on June 1, which will be a live event this time, after an online replacement last year.
See the June edition of The Connexion, published next week, for more about the Jubilee in France, and for an interview with the British ambassador, Dame Menna Rawlings.
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