Weymouth Town Council will be hosting a scaled down event for this year’s Armed Forces Weekend, to be held on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June. All the arrangements will be conforming with COVID-19 restrictions to ensure the safety of all those involved.
On Saturday 19th June from 10am to 3.30pm on Weymouth Seafront and the Pavilion Forecourt, there will be historic military vehicles, volunteers in military costume, and veterans’ associations charity stalls. There will also be music and entertainment from the Decadettes.
On the morning of Sunday 20th June, a service will be held in the Nothe Fort – this event will be invitation only due to limited capacity. The service is to replace the traditional service and parade which is usually held on Weymouth Seafront on the Sunday, which unfortunately cannot take place this year.
A special veterans’ picnic and entertainment in the Nothe Gardens will then take place on the Sunday afternoon from 12pm-4pm, featuring live performances from the Wessex Military Band, Weymouth Concert Brass, and the Decadettes. All are welcome to attend this event, but we ask attendees to respect other visitors and be mindful of social distancing.
Cllr Colin Huckle, Mayor of Weymouth Town Council, said:
“It is with great regret that the Town Council cannot host the much-loved Armed Forces Parade this year. We have decided not to cancel this year’s Armed Forces Weekend, but to put on a scaled down version to pay tribute to our brave veterans and to inspire and engage the community. The Armed Forces Weekend has been hosted in the town continuously since 1944, only missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We would like to express our continued thanks to the Ministry of Defence for the funding and our truly magnificent veterans, volunteers, residents and visitors who support this event each year.
“We promise to make the 2022 event bigger, braver and prouder than ever before”.
So you can run the half marathon with runners spitting everywhere and The Anchor can hold a football event with standing spectators in the hundreds all jumping about with no masks but the veterans weekend cannot go ahead due to covid pandemic, who’s pockets were greased this time it’s a joke and makes a mockery of everything we have all been through this past year and and a half.
Why hold an armed forces weekend the week before the actual week and day itself?