Transcript Of Narration
In 2009 Portsmouth commemorated 65 years since the D-Day landings with a varied programme of events at the D-Day museum. These included a 1940 s style party and one million poppies being dropped from the skies over Castle Field. While the dockyard hosted Royal Navy Past and Present an event in July to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the laying of HMS Victory s keel. This included tours of HMS Victory, being able to go onboard HMS Daring the Navy s newest warship and the band of HM Royal Marines playing alongside HMS Victory.
The theme of the Portsmouth Festivities was the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII, the building of the Mary Rose and the formation in the city of the modern navy. The Festivities ended with a Ghost Ship Pageant on Castle Field featuring fireworks, light and the burning of a ship. Also during 2009 Portsmouth hosted events celebrating 500 years since the building of the Mary Rose, 150 years since HMS Warriors keel was laid and 150 years since the birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
On 5th January 2010 arctic conditions spread across the United Kingdom with Portsmouth being blanketed in thick snow which due to the low temperatures lasted until the 14th and resulted in most of Portsmouth s schools closing. On 3rd June 2010 the Royal Navy welcomed the second of its class 45 destroyers into service in Portsmouth. HMS Dauntless joined the Daring as the second type 45 destroyer.
In the summer the Portsmouth Festivities took the theme of the Victorians age of wonder and featured the South Coast Proms among an impressive programme of events and culminated in a daytime firework display which was set off by the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis and this followed on from the highly successful Ghost Ship finale in 2009. This paved the way for the Festivities theme of 2011 which is space. Also on 30th July Navy Days returned to Portsmouth with many ships being opened to the public, helicopter displays and a parachute display team as well as the Band Of Her Majesties Royal Marines and the event proved a huge hit with the visitors.
On 1st December 2010 Portsmouth was blanked in snow for the second time this year with schools closing on the 2nd and 3rd of December. The snow returned again on the evening of 17t h December. Blanketed in Snow HMS Ark Royal returned to Portsmouth on 3rd December for the last time before her decommissioning in March 2011.
On 22nd January 2011 HMS Ark Royal s crew attended a ceremony in Guildhall Square to mark the end of the ship and the ship was open to the public on 22nd and 23rd January with crowds gathering for one last glimpse of the ship before her decommissioning on 11th March 2011.
On 29th April 2011 many of Portsmouth s streets hosted street parties to celebrate the Royal Wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Schools also joined in with the celebrations on the Thursday with many schools hosting events.
The theme of the Portsmouth Festivities in 2011 was Space and culminated in Lift Off , which started with a procession which charted the journey to space. It then culminated in the "Lift Off event which included flames, lights and pyrotechnics to create a space themed show. This proved to be a popular event.
