Oldham coronation celebrations cost nearly £40,000

The final figure comes after a report by the openDemocracy website found that Oldham Council was one of 26 across the UK which responded to requests for information to plan for a spend of more than £50,000.

Of 382 councils in the UK that openDemocracy contacted, 289 provided a response to the publication.

Of those, just 17 planned a spend of more than £50,000, which included Oldham at a budget of £52,000.

In the end, Oldham’s final spending figure came in under budget, at £38,664, of which £17,500 was funded by a grant to the council from the Department for Culture Media and Sport – leaving the council to stump up the remaining £21,164.

The coronation was shown live on a big screen outside the Old Town Hall, followed by an afternoon of live music and family entertainment.

Street parties also occurred across the borough.

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Performers in the town centre included Beatles tribute band ‘The Threetles’ and ‘Do It Like Dua’ – a tribute to Dua Lipa.

The coronation was shown on a screen in the town centre (Image: Newsquest)

Emma Barton, executive director for place and economic growth at Oldham Council, said: “We as a council wanted to enable our residents and communities to come together and celebrate such a momentous, historic, occasion as the coronation in style.

“That’s why we put on a day of family-friendly entertainment in the town centre, including live screening of the coronation on a big screen, and also funded more than 100 street parties across the borough so people could celebrate in their own neighbourhoods.

“We’ve already had some fantastic feedback from members of the public who have told us they really enjoyed the weekend and made some special memories with their friends, families, and neighbours.

“Our town centre coronation event cost £38,664, which was partly funded by a £17,500 grant to the council from the Department for Culture Media and Sport - and was free to attend too, which we feel is more important than ever to families due to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“Money spent on the event was also an investment in our town centre businesses, as it drew an estimated 3,000 additional people into the town centre last Saturday, who may otherwise have stayed at home.”

Do It Like Dua was one of many performers on the day (Image: Do It Like Dua)

According to openDemocracy’s figures, the council with the highest budgeted coronation spend in the UK was Ealing, at £182,268.85 – one of six councils to budget for a six-figure spend on the day.

In Greater Manchester, seven of the 10 councils responded, with Oldham having the highest budget. Wigan came in second at £40,000, and Rochdale third at £19,610.50. Bury came in lower at £14,000, while Tameside was just £1,210.

Salford and Stockport councils were two of 129 councils across the nation to budget £0 on the coronation.

Of the 289 councils which responded to the publication, the average budget for the coronation was £13,386.12, adding up to a total of £3.8 million.