In the spirit of bringing communities together, Viking is offering UK residents the chance to win £500 in supermarket vouchers towards a neighbourhood event to celebrate King Charles’ upcoming Coronation. Thousands of events are expected to take place in every corner of the UK this May as people take to their streets, gardens, parks and community spaces to join in the Coronation celebrations. On Sunday 7 May, neighbours and communities are being invited to share food and fun together at ‘Coronation Big Lunches’, in a nationwide act of celebration and friendship.
Wendy Atkin-Smith, Managing Director of Viking UK and one of the judges of the Viking Coronation Big Lunch Competition, said:
“We are all about connecting different cultures so the concept of community is at the heart of everything we do at Viking – on our ships and in the destinations we travel to worldwide – and also closer to home here in the UK. We regularly refer to ourselves as the ‘Viking family’ which includes our guests, our team members and our crew, as well as the local communities we visit. We are pleased to be able to play a small part in helping to bring a local community together to celebrate the historic occasion of the King’s upcoming Coronation – whether it be with friends, family or neighbours.”
The Viking team will be celebrating the Coronation in the UK and across its fleet, alongside partners and members of the extended Viking family. Debbie Wiseman OBE – godmother to Viking Herja, composer in residence at Classic FM and the esteemed composer of Viking’s signature scores, ‘The Traveller’, ‘The Explorer’ and ‘Onwards’ — is among 12 composers who have been chosen by King Charles to write two new choral pieces for the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Debbie was also musical director of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration at Windsor. Viking is also a proud supporter of the Newbury Spring Festival, one of the most popular and successful music festivals in the South of England. The King’s Coronation coincides with the opening of this year’s festival and music lovers can enjoy a free live broadcast of the service at St Nicolas Church in Newbury. Viking is a long-term supporter of the Royal Academy of Arts (RA) and an official partner of the RA Collection which will be marking the occasion along with Heywood Hill, the Mayfair bookshop with a Royal Warrant, which curates the libraries on all of the Viking ships.
Viking offers a range of shore excursions with a royal connection on its river and ocean itineraries in a variety of different destinations. Guests on Viking’s Elegant Elbe itinerary can look forward to visiting Lobkowicz Palace in Prague to see the stately residence of the 400-year Lobkowicz family history. Guests can tour their resplendent palace and mingle with royalty as they survey grand portraits, weaponry, tableware and personal love letters from the Lobkowicz family archives. On Viking’s British Isles Explorer itinerary guests can enjoy Privileged Access to Broomhall House – the family home of King Robert the Bruce. A member of the Bruce family greets Viking guests and following a welcome drink, they enjoy a fascinating journey through 1,000 years of Scottish history. Broomhall boasts many elegant furnishings, an internationally important collection of fine art and priceless heirlooms such as the Sword of State of King Robert the Bruce.
To enter the competition, UK residents are being asked to share photos and stories in 300 words or less about their local community, highlighting why they deserve to win the voucher for their own Coronation Big Lunch. Have they got a special story from lockdown which united them? Have they worked together in the past for a charitable cause? Entries to the competition open on Thursday 23 March and T&Cs apply*. The deadline for all entries is Thursday 30 March. The winner will be announced ahead of the Easter bank holiday on Thursday 6 April to allow plenty of time to plan and stock up on all of the essentials.
To enter, UK residents can send an email to uk-marketing@viking.com with the subject line ‘Coronation Big Lunch’.
