From beer and bunting to bowlers and biscuits – the coronation in numbers
The big day has finally arrived, which means millions of flags will be waved, pints drunk and quiches eaten. Here is the coronation weekend in numbers.
After a torrid time, the pub trade hopes a new king will justify getting a round in, with predictions landlords will ring up an extra £120m. An estimated 62m pints will be sunk (17m more than usual) thanks to extended opening hours and the lure of special coronation ales behind the bar. Emma McClarkin, the chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “We hope people will mark this historic national celebration by visiting their local, one iconic British institution supporting another.”
With the last coronation a dim and distant memory the memorabilia industry has gone into overdrive to mark the coronation of King Charles III. From the fine bone china cups made by Halcyon Days in Stoke-on-Trent to the £4 mugs from Lidl there can be no doubt that the British public loves a royal keepsake. The nation is expected to spend nearly £250m on memorabilia, including 3.8m coronation mugs, cups and other crockery, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR)). Much of the merchandise riffs on tea and biscuits, with stores also expected to shift 10,000 commemorative teapots and millions of collectible biscuit tins. Marks & Spencer alone expects to sell more than 1m souvenir tea and shortbread tins.
This is the number of events logged on the official coronation website but analysts suggest that if unofficial knees-ups are included the tally is closer to 20,000. Parties and picnics need food and drink, of course, with retailers reporting a run on quiche, scones and fizz. There are some big sales numbers out there. Tesco thinks it will shift 9m bottles of wine,
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