End of the road for big street party idea

Thursday 12 February 2015

A record breaking attempt to put on the largest street party in the world won’t be part of the Island's big plans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the liberation.

St Brelade No. 1 Deputy Murray Norton wanted to celebrate and beat 1.5 miles long – the current world record set by a village in Devon back in 2002.

Loads got behind his idea on social media to put on an event everyone could get involved in and he was looking at a big party in town but the Assistant Minister for Economic Development says the idea has come too late for this year’s celebrations.

Deputy Norton said: “There are a lot of excellent parish events in the planning stage. I met with the Connetables and discussed the possibility of a street party but quite a few of the parishes have their own events going on on the Sunday and it would be folly for us to compete with the parishes."

It turns out the world record set by Devon has since been rested because Deputy Norton says they couldn’t quantify what made up a street party to give the same conditions to others looking to try and beat it.

This year the liberation celebrations kick off in April with a five-week heritage festival involving all the Channel Islands when historic sites will be opened up and Islanders and visitors can explore wartime bunkers and towers.

Deputy Norton said: “It’s excellent that we’ve got a festival that stretches longer than the Liberation weekend. There’s a lot of interest from a lot of people looking to discover our great history.”

Although it might not be a record breaker, there are still plans for a big tea party in People’s Park after the Liberation Grand Parade from Liberation Square and a formal ceremony in the park. The Liberation Day celebrations will continue into the evening with food and entertainment and a grand finale.

The Island’s Bailiff, Mr William Bailhache said: “I hope that the special arrangements to celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of Liberation on 9^th May will appeal to everyone in our community, young and old, and, in particular, serve to recognize those who endured the Occupation, whether in Jersey or further afield, as well as the memory of those who are no longer with us.

“Let us all embrace the spirit of Liberation and celebrate our privileges and freedoms on this special anniversary. I look forward to meeting Islanders on 9^th May at the ceremony and community events to be held in People’s Park.”

Deputy Norton hasn't given up on the idea of a big community party some time in the future and is now looking at the idea of beating the world record for a continuous line of tables. He said that's set at 2 km - a distance from about the Grand Hotel at West Park to Bel Royal.