Guangzhou’s Great British Bash a huge success

With the sun shining, humidity rising, the Beijing Beatles rocking and pints flowing, organisers hailed the success of Guangzhou’s British Day marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.

Over 1,500 people flocked to the British School of Guangzhou as hundreds of locals celebrated alongside Britons and other expats.

The UK kicked off an extended weekend of Jubilee celebrations across the country with street parties and concerts culminating in a 1,000-strong boat parade floating down London’s River Thames.

In Guangzhou, Britain’s Consul-General, Alastair Morgan, said he was “very pleased” so many people got involved in the celebrations.

“There will be lots of street parties and garden parties all around Britain and it’s really good we got one here in Guangzhou to be part of that,” Mr Morgan said.

Fortunately, the weather was good with only a few drops of rain adding to the feel of a uniquely British party.

Visitors were served a taste of British traditional classics including fish and chips, sausages, pies, and pasties and washed them down with beer and cider.

The event also featured a mini-Olympics and World Cup tournament, with France resoundingly beating England to lift the football trophy.

“We’ve done our bit for queen and country,” Giles Jacobs, one of the organisers, said.

“The Union Jack and brand GB are very strong here, very influential. The outreach today, inviting more locals to be involved has been one of the most pleasing aspects.”

Visitor Michael Kurton, a British-born, Australian expat based in Guangzhou, said the event helped create more awareness of UK businesses in the city. He was also pleased to see more British venues opening up in the city centre.

“There was always the business presence and the consulate at a higher level that was not visible. Now obviously there is more of a cultural thing happening, the level of cultural interaction is changing,” he said. “It’s not just business and government; it’s at a street level where people and cultures meet.”

Mark Thomas, headmaster of the British School of Guangzhou, said he was very proud to bring a small part of Britain to Guangzhou.

Organisers were also delighted at the turnout from the local community.

Asked of what he thought of the event, university student Lui Wei said it was great to mingle with so many expats, since he normally only hears English spoken on videos.  ”I feel great to hear English spoken by real people,” he said.

Another visitor, Peng Guan added: “[British Day] is full of fun, [is] lively, bustling with noise and excitement, and the food is delicious.”

The celebrations were also accompanied by a tribute musical act known as the Beijing Beatles, who proved to be a crowd favourite.

Band frontman Ian Burns, a.k.a. Don Lemon, said: “Usually a Chinese crowd will know ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ but they don’t know the earlier stuff.  But it’s changing and people are getting into the early stuff.”

Organisers hope after the response from crowds over the weekend, British Day will be back as an annual celebration.

You can look at all the great photos from the celebrations in the Nanfang Studio.