REVEALED: Royal visit cost total of £485k

Monday 30 September 2024

REVEALED: Royal visit cost total of £485k

Monday 30 September 2024

The Royal visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Jersey earlier this year racked up a bill of £485,000 and went £85,000 over budget, it has emerged.

The Bailiff’s Chambers today published a breakdown of costs for the event on Monday 15 July.

Express previously reported on a Ministerial Decision which showed that the Treasury Minister signed off on releasing up to £400,000 from central coffers to fund the celebrations.

However, it has now emerged that the total cost of the event exceeded that budget by £85,000.

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Pictured: The Bailiff’s Chambers today published a breakdown of costs of the Royal visit on Monday 15 July.

The largest spend was on contractors, which racked up a bill of almost £135,000 compared to its planned budget of £80,000.

According to the Bailiff's Chambers, this amount covered event and site coordination, crowd and safety consultation, site building, and the event's first aid provision.

Almost £115,000 was spent on communications, compared to the planned budget of £100,000.

This included included the live streaming of the event and branding "to ensure the visit was appropriately and professionally elevated to best reflect the island's image throughout the local, national and international coverage".

Video: A three-and-a-half hour live stream was broadcast to cover the duration of the visit.

The event's live stream attracted 43,000 viewers on YouTube, according to the Bailiff's Chambers.

Almost £92,000 was spent to "furnish the Royal Visit Exposition to a high standard".

The planned budget for this environmentally-focused showcase was £50,000, according to the Ministerial Decision published last month.

A total of £12,198 was spent on catering for the tea party for 340 guests, compared to a £10,000 budget.

Pictured: King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Jersey Expo – an environmentally-focused showcase of the 'best of Jersey'. (Jon Guegan)

However, there was an underspend on both infrastructure and transport.

The event's infrastructure – which included marquees, staging, seating, toilets and barriers – cost £50,281 compared to a budgeted £60,000.

Meanwhile, just £1,140 was spent on transport for the visit – compared to a budget of £30,000.

An additional £80,000 was spent on security, entertainment, safety training and logistics for the event.

In a statement accompanying the total cost announcement, the Bailiff acknowledged that the costs were "significant" – but said they are "what is expected when delivering an event of this nature and scale".

Pictured: Bailiff Sir Timothy Le Cocq said the costs "are what is expected when delivering an event of this nature and scale".

Sir Timothy Le Cocq said: "The Royal visit was a momentous occasion for the island and one where it had been 19 years since the Sovereign had visited Jersey.

"The costs were, of course, significant however this figure encompasses planning, logistics and the safe delivery of an event for both Their Majesties and the thousands of islands who joined them in St Helier on 15 July.

"I believe that the costs associated with the visit are what is expected when delivering an event of this nature and scale."

He added: "In the region of 15,000 islanders attended St Helier and they will have chosen their viewing points. 43,000 joined online to view the visit and many other islanders lined the roads in anticipation.

"The island as a community came together for a rare and joyful occasion and I believe this visit was a very positive experience."

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