WEMBLEY PARK ANNOUNCES FREE CORONATION CELEBRATION
Iconic walkway leading to National Stadium to be temporarily renamed to its old title as a tribute to His Majesty King Charles III for the Coronation month
Wembley Park’s Coronation Party will feature live screening of the Coronation, family-friendly entertainment, street food, artisan traders and giant board games
Large ceremonial Union Jack banners to adorn “King’s Way”, with free paper crowns, top hats and flags for visitors
To honour the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on Saturday 6th May, North London neighbourhood Wembley Park will be holding a free-to-attend Coronation Day celebration, the Wembley Park Coronation Celebration.
To mark the occasion, the neighbourhood will be temporarily reverting the name of its well-known processional route to Wembley Stadium, Olympic Way, to its original name, King’s Way, throughout the entire month of May in recognition of His Majesty’s accession to the throne.
Widely recognized as “Wembley Way” among football and music enthusiasts worldwide, the renowned avenue can trace its roots back to the early 1900s, when it was originally named “King’s Way”. On July 6th, 1948, Minister of Transport Alfred Barnes MP re-named it “Olympic Way” during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, also known as “the Austerity Games”, hosted in Wembley that year.
Over the years, this famous walkway has welcomed countless athletes, musicians and international celebrities and featured on millions of TV screens across the world as a backdrop to events ranging from Live Aid in 1985 to the more recent UEFA EURO 2020 Games.
Visitors to the Wembley Park Coronation Celebration will be able to enjoy the ceremony on deck chairs from a giant screen positioned in front of the National Stadium, opposite the Olympic Steps. A stage below the screen will host a variety of live entertainers, curated by Busk in London. Large Union Jack-themed ceremonial banners will be on display for the occasion to adorn “King’s Way”, with party freebies including Union Jack flags, paper crowns, top hats and other decorations gifted to everyone attending the event.
Shoreditch-based Urban Food Fest will operate a pop-up food market, with picnic tables and an array of street food available on the day, from cake pops and stuffed cookies to pizza and gourmet burgers, while celebrated Wembley Park bakery Bread Ahead will delight visitors with their famous doughnuts. A selection of artisan traders will sell locally sourced homewares, gifts, and fashion items.
Around Wembley Park’s new outdoor stage, the Sound Shell, there will be a special area for families with young children. This family zone will offer various forms of entertainment such as face painters, magicians and stilt walkers. Additionally, kids can have fun playing life-sized board games like Jenga and other family favourites. For memorable pictures of the day, a Royal Photo Booth will also provide visitors the opportunity to pose with ‘King Charles’.
“We are looking forward to celebrating the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III alongside the Wembley Park community and visitors from further afield on 6th May. It promises to be a memorable day, with fun-filled activities for the whole family to enjoy. As custodians of this iconic site, we hold Wembley Park’s rich history close to our hearts; it continues to influence many aspects of the neighbourhood’s naming and landscaping design. I can think of no better way to celebrate the King’s Coronation than with a nod to Olympic Way’s legacy, temporarily renaming it with its former title – King’s Way.” Julian Tollast, Head of Masterplanning and Design, Wembley Park
About Wembley Park
Wembley Park is London’s most exciting new neighbourhood. Already home to The OVO Arena Wembley, Wembley, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre and Wembley Stadium, Wembley Park is building on its international reputation for music and sporting events and becoming a landmark destination with culture, entertainment, and community at its heart.
As a neighbourhood, Wembley Park includes over 4,700 new homes, shops, and places to work, as well as attractive public spaces, with parks and gardens, public squares and wide boulevards for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. When completed, nearly half of the 85-acre site will be open space and private gardens and Wembley Park will be home to the largest single site of Build to Rent in the UK, with over 6,000 homes, all managed by Quintain Living.
The three-acre southern section of what will be the seven-acre Union Park is the latest milestone in the transformation of Wembley Park, including brand new amenities such as a children’s paddling pool, a playground, a pond, new trees, and expansive lawns, as well as outdoor training equipment.
The neighbourhood continues to welcome innovative food, retail, and leisure experiences, including Amazon Fresh, The White Horse pub by Fuller’s, Black Sheep Coffee, Bread Ahead, Pasta Remoli, Haute Dolci, Masalchi by Atul Kochhar, Chop-Chop London, Out of Office Coffee, Studio 5ive and MoreYoga.
The presence of four hotels, London Designer Outlet (LDO), which includes over 70 shops and restaurants with premium brands that offer 70 per cent off RRP, and BOXPARK Wembley, which has brought independent street food traders to the area and a dedicated floor to gaming including Pop Golf, Bad Axe and Meetspace VR, make Wembley Park an exceptional destination for culture, entertainment, food, and shopping.
Wembley Park’s cultural strategy features a year-long programme of free public events. Recent highlights include International Busking Day, an annual festival celebrating the art of busking and street performance; Wemba’s Dream, a performance festival co-produced with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which will soon be moving its headquarters to the neighbourhood. An extensive public art programme animates Wembley Park’s open spaces, with recent commissions by JR, Jason Bruges, Mr Doodle, Pref, Miriamandtom, Vivien Zhang and Maser. A new purpose-built community centre, The Yellow, provides a weekly programme of free community activities, ranging from youth theatre to Indian classical dance.
Images credit: Chris Winter / Wembley Park
wembleypark.com/coronation
