When it comes to Britishness, other than the Royal Family and Fish and Chips, you would be hard-pressed to find anything more British than Bingo?
Ok, Bingo may have its roots in Italy and be played all around the world, but the Bingo-loving Brits have taken it into their heart and made it central to communities up and down the countries. Throw in a Platinum Jubilee into the mix and the best of the UK bingo community is brought out with splendour and with vigour.
Here's a round-up of just some of the ways the UK bingo community is celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee:
Mecca Bingo Featured in Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Mecca Bingo, one of the UK's top bingo brands, announced last week that it is one of 25 iconic brands to feature in the official book of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant. Celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years on the throne, the commemorative album points to Mecca Bingo’s 61 years serving the bingo-lovers of the UK.
The hardback book, titled Her Majesty The Queen: The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative Album, is the only official publication for the Jubilee Pageant. The coffee table book shines a light on Mecca, along with other iconic ‘best of British’ brands, which have contributed to the social and economic history of Britain during the Queen’s reign.
The commemorative album includes over 250 photographs charting Her Majesty’s life and Mecca Bingo is one of 25 brands featured for ‘transformational contribution across the spheres of culture, society, technology and business’.
Sam Fay, Head of Strategy, Mecca Bingo said:
“The Queen was just nine years into her incredible reign when Mecca Bingo launched, and we’ve been serving communities across the UK, in club and online, ever since. It’s a real honour to be invited to take part in this historic album and to be joining some of the UK’s most iconic brands in celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. It truly cements the place of Mecca within classic British culture, against the backdrop of our greatest cultural institution of all: our Queen!”
Published by St. James’s House and written by royal authors Robert Jobson and Katie Nicholl with contributions by Tom Parker Bowles, the commemorative album will launch on 5th June, the day of the pageant itself, with a private gala at London’s world-famous Claridge’s hotel.
Buzz Bingo Birmingham Life-Seized Queen Cake
A life-sized model of the Queen was presented at Buzz Bingo Birmingham to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The replica of Her Majesty was so good, you could eat it… literally, as the 5 feet, 3-tall replica of the Queen was made entirely out of cake!
Created for Buzz Bingo by professional cake artist and TikTok Star, Lara Mason, the cake – A Victoria Sponge – took five days to make and was baked with 400 eggs, 20kg of flour and 20kg of butter. The cake is entirely edible and can serve approximately 200 people.
Lara, who is the creative director at Cake Anything, said of the impressive cake:
“This has been my biggest challenge in my career, as the Queen is such a recognised and respected figure – I wanted to do her justice! I’ve loved recreating her image out of cake and I’m so delighted that Buzz Bingo approached me to help celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee. It’s been amazing to see the reaction from players.”
A Buzz Bingo spokesperson added:
“We loved kicking off The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Buzz Bingo Kingsbury Road this week with a life-size cake of The Queen. Not only was the cake visually impressive, it was absolutely delicious, too. Enjoying a slice of cake and a game of bingo was the perfectly British way to kick-start a very special weekend of celebrations.”
If you are not in the Birmingham area this weekend and won't be able to sample the cake itself, Buzz Bingo will be offering all players a free cup of tea and special Jubilee cupcake when they visit any of the 91 clubs on Sunday, June 5th, for the afternoon Main Event bingo.
Bongo's Bingo Jubilee Weekend Sold Out
With some tickets apparently still available for tonight, the Bongo's Bingo Jubilee Weekender has sold out of tickets for the Friday and Saturday in a 4-day bingo extravaganza at Content.
Uniting crowds for nights of escapism and mayhem since 2015, Bongo's Bingo has rejuvenated the quintessential quaint British pastime as an experiential and immersive live show and rave with nostalgia-soaked revelry.
Co-founder and Co-owner of Bongo's Bingo – Jonny Bongo, said of the event:
“The Jubilee weekend is taking shape to be truly epic at Bongo’s Bingo and we have got a brilliant run of shows into the summer at CONTENT as well.
Liverpool is our home turf is always such a great city to be in and we can’t wait to be here during the long bank holiday weekend. And don’t forget we are at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool in August for XL too.”
Ben has been an massive bingo enthusiast and fan since playing at the seaside as a kid. Dedicated to bringing you the latest and best bingo news from the UK