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Strikes, sporting, and cultural events cancelled in national mourning of Queen’s death

Fiona O'Hara

Fiona O’Hara

The UK falls silent as multiple events and strike actions were postponed or cancelled to show respect for the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

News of the Queen’s death was announced by Huw Edwards on BBC news at 6:30pm Thursday 8th September after Buckingham Palace released an official statement.

In the wake of the news, many organisations announced postponed and cancelled events for the immediate weekend following the Queen’s death as the country begins ten days of national mourning.

Strikes

Planned strike action for Friday 15-17th September has been postponed as announced by General Secretary of RMT Mick Lynch:

“The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended. We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country.”

This was reiterated by the TSSA who cancelled all planned strike action in September.

A planned two-day walkout by postal workers of the Communication Workers Union has been called off.

Music

The BBC has announced that the last two nights of the Proms, including the Last Night at the Proms, have been cancelled.

 

The Mercury Prize awards ceremony on Thursday night was postponed mere hours before it was set to begin.

Sport

Multiple sporting events have been cancelled or postponed.

The Premier League have cancelled the next week of fixtures and the English Football League has postponed this weekend’s matches. The Scottish Professional Football League have postponed the Championship clash between Dundee and Cove Rangers.

 

The Scottish Rugby Union has announced that all scheduled games for the weekend following the Queen’s death have been postponed.

England’s Rugby Football Union have stated that games will go ahead as planned with a minute’s silence before each game.

The British Horseracing Authority has announced they are suspending all events scheduled for the next two days following the announcement. Racing will reconvene on Sunday.  BHA’s Julie Harrington, Chief Executive has stated:

“Her Majesty the Queen’s affinity and bond with British racing was enduring and unique, and a number of our sport’s participants have a close, direct relationship with her. It is out of respect for this, and in sympathy with her family including King Charles III, that the sport has taken the decision to continue our suspension of fixtures into Saturday.”

Stage six of the Tour of Britain scheduled to take place Friday has been cancelled as well as the stages taking place for the rest of the weekend.

The second and deciding day of the England vs. South Africa Test match at The Oval has been cancelled.

While the moves made to cancel and postpone these events have been generally received positively, there are many who find these moves frustrating and highlight the loss in income many will face when forced to close in order to mourn.

Owen Jones, columnist for The Guardian, highlighted this on Twitter:

More updates are expected on all events during the mourning period over the next couple of weeks.

Featured image courtesy of Mohammed Al-Emran on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here. 

Fiona is a Sports Editor for Empoword Journalism. She is a recent graduate of The University of Glasgow and has since contributed to The National and The Herald. While her main love is Rugby, Fiona is passionate about a multitude of sports and particularly championing women's sport.

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