Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and West Dorset District Council will hold a flag raising event and ceremony of dedication to mark Commonwealth Day.
The councils will join 500 local authorities and civic dignitaries, community groups and charities throughout the British Isles and Channel Islands in to mark Commonwealth Day by conducting flag raising ceremonies at10am on Monday 10 March.
The borough council’s flag raising ceremony will take place at the North Quay offices flag pole hosted by The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Cllr Ray Banham.
The district council’s flag raising ceremony will take place at the front of South Walks House hosted by West Dorset District Council Chairman Cllr Gillian Summers.
Many local community groups will be supporting this event which is open to the public. Invited guests include local Lions and Rotary Clubs, Royal Navy Association, RAF Association and Territorial Army.
The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Cllr Ray Banham said: “We are looking forward to hosting the Commonwealth Day flag raising event. It is great have the opportunity to join the British Isle and Channel Islands to recognise Commonwealth Day.”
District council chairman Cllr Gillian Summers said: “West Dorset District Councilis delighted to celebrate the first Commonwealth Day at our new building, South Walks House. We look forward to sharing this experience with representatives of local community organisations. I have arranged for the National Anthem to be played during the flag-raising by a member of the Durnovaria Silver Band.”
This new event helps people in their local communities to become involved and join with others nationwide in showing their commitment to the Commonwealth, appreciation of the values it stands for, and the opportunities offered to its citizens around the world.
Around the country national charity teams will mark the day by takingCommonwealth Flagsto the top of the UK’s four highest National Peaks to raise funds for their worthy causes. These are Cancer Research UK – Scafell Pike, England, Help for Heroes – Ben Nevis, Scotland, Walking with the Wounded – Mount Snowdon, Wales and Fields of Life – Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland.
Commonwealth Flags will also be flown at many locations of special significance including the four capital cities of the United Kingdom, Land’s End in Cornwall- the most westerly point in England, St. David’s in Pembrokeshire- the westernmost city in Wales, Carlisle in Cumbria- the northernmost city in England, Lowestoft in Suffolk- the easternmost town in England and Unst in the Shetland Islands- the most northerly inhabited island in Scotland.
Flags will also be raised at the Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula, and at the Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf, as well as King Edward Point and Bird Island in South Georgia.
“This will be the largest, single, raising of the Commonwealth Flag in the history of the Commonwealth”, said Bruno Peek LVO OBE OPR, Pageant master and originator of Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth.
“The success of this year’s event bodes well for 2015 and the future as we extend the invitation to participate and involve all 53 countries of the Commonwealth and UK overseas territories, to make this the largest-ever annual occasion involving local communities throughout the worldwide Commonwealth family”.
