WATCH: Beacon Lighting for Jubilee in York

Last night saw the Beacon Lighting Ceremony take place to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the city.

The event took place at the Library Lawn in Library Square from 9:15pm to 10pm. Crowds gathered from 9pm to see a glimpse of the torch being lit.

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The ceremony had a welcome talk from Lord Mayor of York, David Carr who has been in Office since the end of May. Performances took place by York Pipe Band, the Dunnington Community Choir, and the Band of the Yorkshire Regiment.

York residents gathered collectively to sing songs such as All You Need Is Love, and of course, God Save The Queen. There was also a ‘Song for the Commonwealth’ performed by the Dunnington Community Choir.

The Beacon lighting was lit as part of the Official Jubilee Weekend Programme as organised by Buckingham Palace. There were over 2,000 beacons lit throughout UK, with 54 also lit in capital cities in the Commonwealth.

Beacons have been a tradition for many royal events, with them being used previously to mark momentous occasions such as Coronations, Royal Weddings, and Jubilees, with it first starting in 1987 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. This week it has been used to make note of the Queen being on the throne for 70 years.

Despite being a short event, it captured a collective essence of togetherness for the momentous occasion. People of all ages and different demographics came together in the library grounds to be a part of the festivities.

Nationwide, people all around the country came together to celebrate the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

York Resident, Catherine Buckle, greatly enjoyed the event. She said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the Beacon lighting.

"It was nice being around the brass band and being at a celebration which was led by the Queen in Windsor Castle.”

There is still much Jubilee events to be enjoyed throughout the long weekend with screenings and limited-edition menus at many York eateries and bars.

The streets are lined with bunting and there is more than 3,500 meters of it around the city as part of a York BID initiative. As well as this, there are union jack deckchairs located at Dean’s Park, Museum Gardens, Judge’s Lodging and Middleton’s Hotel Garden.

You can catch a daily screening of family favourite film ‘The Queen’s Corgi’ and archive footage of the Queen’s visits in the North at St Sampson's Square, to give you chance to soak up the bank holiday sunshine and enjoy some local refreshments.

You can keep up to date with the latest Jubilee news from around York here.