Queen's 90th Birthday to be marked with beacon lighting ceremony

A beacon will be lit at Blackstone Edge in Littleborough

Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday will be celebrated by lighting a beacon on Thursday 21 April at Blackstone Edge in Littleborough, one of the highest vantage points in the borough.

The beacon will be one of 1,000 being lit across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and overseas territories after the Queen lights the principal beacon at Windsor Castle in Berkshire.

The Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Ian Sandiford, and the Mayor of Rochdale, Surinder Biant, will get the ceremony under way at 7.30pm before the beacon is lit shortly afterwards.

Councillor Biant said: “The Queen’s 90th birthday is a real landmark in history, and it is a great honour that Rochdale has been chosen to host one of the birthday beacons. The dramatic setting up on Blackstone Edge will mean our beacon can be seen for many miles around. It promises to be a special evening and I hope lots of people will look out for it up on the Pennine moors.”

As part of the commemoration event, the Army Cadet Force are taking special gas fueled beacons to the top of the four highest peaks in the UK:

• Ben Nevis – Scotland (1st Battalion Highlanders Army Cadet Force)
• Mount Snowdon – Wales (Clwyd and Gwynedd Army Cadet Force)
• Scafell Pike – England (Cumbria Army Cadet Force)
• Slieve Donard – Northern Ireland (2nd NI Battalion Army Cadet Force)

This June the celebrations continue when Rochdale Town Hall hosts a celebration to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th. Some 175 unsung local heroes nominated by members of the public have been invited to the afternoon tea, where they will be entertained by local artists and groups.