Platinum Jubilee gives us the perfect excuse for a good party, says NIGEL RAILTON

I actually think there are lots of things to be positive about in 2022. It seems we really are beginning to emerge from the nightmare that is Covid-19, with the UK’s world-leading vaccine rollout playing a huge part in that. It has allowed people to finally start returning to offices, albeit tentatively.

January ‑ that most dreary of months ‑ is over, and we can start looking forward to spring.

This year we’re hosting the Commonwealth Games ‑ the “friendly games” ‑ in Birmingham, bringing together athletes from all over the world in a carnival of human endeavour.

And it’s also the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with all sorts of exciting events planned up and down the country to celebrate Her Majesty’s record 70 years on the throne.

At The National Lottery, we want to achieve two things:

To get people to understand the positive role they’ve played during Covid, continuing to do what needs to be done to make things that bit easier.

And as we emerge from the crisis, to put fun firmly back on the agenda, so everyone has something to look forward to.

Looking back for a moment, £1.2billion of funding raised by players of The National Lottery has been distributed across the UK since the start of the pandemic, significantly helping charities and organisations tackle the impact of Covid.

And during the pandemic, people across the UK have been stepping up to the plate to help out in their local communities.

Indeed, some of our big lottery winners volunteered their time and skills to help charities that saw their fundraising take a hit during the crisis.

This included winners creating bird boxes for spring that were donated to schools and care homes, knitting soft toys that were sold to raise funds, donating Christmas hampers to charities including Age Concern, and carrying out beach cleans to raise awareness of litter around our shorelines.

These small acts of kindness typify what the UK is all about and, taken together, make a real difference to our living environment.

So how do we shake off the greyness of February and rouse ourselves to get stuck in and make a difference once again?

I’m sure the image of Her Majesty sitting alone as she mourned her late husband Prince Philip last year touched everyone that saw it. 

As a nation, it’s time we came together to give her the celebration that her decades of dedicated service deserve.

We need to step up and deliver a national celebration that showcases the best of British in every sense.

As you’d expect, there are already some very exciting events planned over the special four-day Bank Holiday weekend of June 2-5 this summer.

That’s why The National Lottery is contributing more than £22million to fund an exciting series of programmes and activities from The National Lottery Community Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Sport England and the British Film Institute.

These organisations are working together to produce a series of events designed to help communities bring people together to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. 

At The National Lottery, we’ll be throwing ourselves into The Big Jubilee Lunch on Sunday, June 5.

Since 2009, The Big Lunch has been encouraging communities up and down the land to come together in the spirit of friendship.

If you haven’t got involved before, why not have a go now? We hope and expect to see 10 million people joining in this year ‑ with thousands of street parties, barbecues and community events in a UK-wide celebration. Let’s hope the Great British weather co-operates!

After the last two years of social distancing and isolation, surely there’s no better way of celebrating the Jubilee and a return to some sort of normality than by sitting down to lunch with friends, family and neighbours.

I reckon it’s about time we found a reason to let our hair down and have some fun, and what better reason than Her Majesty’s landmark year.

So, please make sure you get involved and enjoy the celebrations.