THE Government hopes a tourism bonanza sparked by Friday’s Royal Wedding will generate at least 50,000 jobs and £2bn extra for the British economy.
Tourism minister John Penrose said the Westminster Abbey nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton, together with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics next year, would give a major boost to the UK’s economic recovery.
He said: “The Royal Wedding is one of a series of major events that are being used to showcase Britain as part of VisitBritain’s new, four-year international marketing campaign.
“We intend to capitalise on the huge tourism opportunity they will create by constructing a marketing fund of more than £100m, with major companies already pledging support to help match the £50m of public money which the Government has committed through VisitBritain.
“The marketing campaign is aiming to deliver four million extra visitors to the UK over the four years, £2bn in additional visitor spending and 50,000 new jobs across the country.” Mr Penrose was answering a written Parliamentary question from Tory Andrew Rosindell (Romford).
As hundreds of thousands of people prepare to descend on the capital, a finely-tuned clean-up operation is under way to make sure the royal wedding procession route is spick and span.
After roads are closed to traffic on Thursday night, street sweepers will make sure every step of the route is gleaming, ready for the Royal couple.
And as soon as the newlyweds leave Westminster Abbey, teams will hit the streets again to clear up an expected 140 tonnes of waste.
Mark Banks, waste and recycling manager at Westminster City Council, said: “We’re fairly well-rehearsed with this kind of thing because we’re at the centre of London so this is a bit like New Year’s Eve, or the Notting Hill Carnival. Everyone is up for the challenge.”
On Thursday nightm an extra 15 sweepers will be dedicated to final preparations for the wedding area, Mr Banks said. The 1½-mile route has been spruced up for days, thanks to a total of 400 litres of degreaser, dozens of brooms, shovels and hoes.
On Friday morning, 40 extra sweepers will be deployed around all open Tube stations and similar transport hubs leading to the main area.
Two gritting vehicles containing four tonnes of sand will also be on stand-by ready to spread on the Mall and Horseguards Parade for the comfort and safety of the horses involved in the procession.
“Then it will be litter picking among the crowds during the day, and among the viewing screens and parks.
“As the happy couple leave the Abbey we will be following fairly soon after, we will be let in to clean the road before it’s open to the public.”
Around 100 extra staff are expected to be on hand to get the route back to normal – many volunteering to work overtime, said Veolia Environmental Services, the council’s waste management contractor.
