ROYAL VISIT PLANS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 30005, 14 December 1962, Page 12

ROYAL VISIT PLANS

70,000 Crowd At Park It was expected that all w<ho wanted to greet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Lancaster Park on February 16 would be able to gain admission to the park, said Cr. H. P. Smith, chairman of the City Council’s sub-committee which is arranging the park welcome, last evening. The main purpose of the visit to the park was for the Queen to meet the children of the city and province, said Cr. Smith, and the Canterbury Education Board had co-operated end would arrange for about 30,000 children, from standard three upwards, to attend. “With the use of the ground normally required for sports on the oval, in addition to the stands and embankment, it seems that we can accommodate up to 70,000,” Cr. Smith said. As many of the crowd would be children, more could be accommodated than for a Rugby test match, where the spectators were all adults. The committee yesterday afternoon had agreed that it would not be necessary to issue tickets for the function. Cr. Smith said. Nor did it appear necessary to interfere with the rights of stand ticket-holders, who were entitled to attend anything that happened at Lancaster Park. A choir of 2000 to 3000 children, and all the official party could be accommodated in and around No. 1 stand, he said. Speech-making would be kept to a minimum, Cr. Smith said, because only 40 minutes was allowed for the whole function. It was hoped that the Queen would drive around the perimeter of the oval in an open vehicle so that everyone who went to the park would be able to see and greet Her Majesty. It was realised that many in the park would not have a face-to-face view of the Queen during the brief official welcome. It is believed that on the route Her Majesty will take from the Christchurch airport to Lancaster Park there will be several places where her car will slow to almost walking pace. Plans are being made for the public to assemble at several of these places—possibly in Memorial avenue, Harper avenue, and Bealey avenue—and it is likely that this will ease the demand on Lancaster Park.