Footage from Fife will be beamed to an estimated TV audience of one billion people when St Andrews University’s most famous graduates get married.
Plans for a huge party to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton are taking shape.
The pair met while they were students at St Andrews and will tie the knot on April 29. Many people in St Andrews still feel an affinity with the couple, something much in evidence when the pair returned to the university last month.
It is hardly surprising the town has been gripped by a serious bout of wedding fever and luckily there is a cure for the ailment courtesy of a “royal wedding breakfast” to be held at St Salvator’s Quadrangle.
A spokesman for the bash said a number of local organisations had already signed up.
“A small army of local volunteers is being assembled to manage the event, ensuring that following the successful royal visit to the town on February 25 St Andrews builds further upon its high-profile association with Prince William and Katherine Middleton.
“The occasion which has now been officially titled the St Andrews Wedding Breakfast is being co-ordinated by St Andrews Community Council, with support from St Andrews University, the students’ association, St Andrews Partnership, and numerous other local organisations.
“The venue will be St Salvator’s Quadrangle and a major BBC outside broadcast presence will ensure that the St Andrews celebrations are seen live by over one billion people on TV screens across the world.”WebsiteKyffin Roberts of St Andrews Community Council is chairman of the event’s organising committee.
“We recognise that there is going to be a great deal of interest in the St Andrews wedding breakfast, and so we have created a dedicated website www.standrewsweddingbreakfast.co.uk,” he said. “It will be updated regularly between now and the big day to include information about ticketing arrangements, timings and contact details.”
Mr Roberts said a number of working groups have been set up to manage different aspects of the event, including entertainments, fund-raising, ticketing, catering and communications.
“We have taken great strides in the last fortnight,” he added. “However, we still face a massive challenge to plan and deliver a major volunteer-run public event with just a few weeks’ notice. Not least of our challenges is the fact that we started off with absolutely no budget and so we are dependent on the support and goodwill of local organisations, businesses and community groups.
“The occasion is primarily being run by the town, for the town.”
Mr Roberts insists the event will have positive effects for St Andrews.
“We know we have a lot of hard work ahead of us,” he said. “However, we are determined to raise a worthwhile sum for the happy couple’s favoured charities, while also using the event to project a positive image of St Andrews to a worldwide audience.”