Charles III’s coronation provided ‘an opportunity for Westminster’s communities to come together and celebrate’ [fcdo cc by-sa 4.0 open government licence]

THE city council spent £19,000 on screening the King’s coronation at one location in May, an FOI, freedom of information, request has revealed.

Westminster City Council used the cash to broadcast the special ceremony at Paddington Recreation Ground on Saturday May 6.

It also spent £14,802 on 39 resident street parties across the borough over the long weekend.

The local authority said all other costs associated with the long weekend are being covered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, which organised the coronation.

This included costs related to getting the procession route ready, cleaning, and parking suspensions.

It said it didn’t incur any costs for stewarding or fencing the route.

A city council spokesperson said: “The coronation of King Charles III was an opportunity for Westminster’s communities to come together and celebrate with their friends, relatives and neighbours.

“Like many councils across the country, Westminster waived charges to allow local communities to host street parties and provided a large screen so residents could watch the weekend’s events unfold.

“As the home of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, the coronation was of special significance for the City of Westminster and our communities, and the council is proud of the role it played in this historic event.”

The coronation is estimated to have cost taxpayers between £50million and £100million, according to The Independent.

Despite the celebrations being somewhat dampened by the grim weather, Londoners and tourists alike descended on the city in their tens of thousands to catch a glimpse of the newly-crowned royals.

Meanwhile many others stayed at home, watching it on the TV, while hundreds of street parties up and down the country brought communities together for a unique occasion.

In the capital the biggest known council expenditure was in Ealing, at £182,268.85.

This was followed by Newham (£168k), Barking & Dagenham (£155k) and Richmond upon Thames (£150k), according to Open Democracy. At the other end of the scale, three London boroughs – Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton – spent absolutely nothing for the king and queen coronation celebrations, while Havering Council in east London just spent £600.

Thirteen London councils did not give a response before the data were announced.