From strikes to sports: National events and Premier League matches cancelled after Queen's death
Sporting events and strikes are being cancelled following the death of the Queen, and more cancellations are expected to follow as a period of national mourning begins.
Major rail and postal strikes have been cancelled.
And all Premier League and English Football League matches this weekend have been postponed as a mark of respect.
Decisions regarding further postponements in the calendar are set to be determined following consideration of official mourning guidance, set to be issued by the Cabinet Office. Here are the events that have been called off or postponed in light of Thursday's news:
Strikes
Planned strikes by rail and postal workers who were due to walk out over a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions were postponed following the news.
“RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth," General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union boss Mick Lynch said.
“The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended."
“We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country," he added.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has cancelled its annual conference, which was due to be held in Brighton on Saturday.
A spokesperson said: “The General Council sends our condolences to the King and the Royal Family on the death of the Queen, and recognises her many years of dedicated service to the country. “As a mark of respect, we have decided to postpone Congress 2022 until later this autumn.”
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and train drivers union Aslef also suspended their strikes.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “We welcome the unions’ decision to call off next week’s strikes and we join them and the rest of the railway family in sending our condolences to the royal family.”
Postal staff from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) called off their planned 48-hour walkout on Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Politics
The House of Commons will not be sitting for business at 9.30am as initially planned, the House of Commons announced in a tweet on Thursday.
Instead, the house sat at 12pm for tributes to the Queen and senior members of the commons will take an oath to King Charles III on Saturday.
Football
Premier League clubs were among the sides postponing fixtures that had been scheduled for the weekend following the Queen's death. Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and West Ham’s game against FCSB in the Europa Conference League at the London Stadium went ahead on Thursday evening with pre-match tributes. The Northern Ireland Football League announced that Friday night’s matches between Cliftonville and Glentoran and Larne and Dungannon have been postponed. The English Football League also confirmed that Friday night’s Championship game between Burnley and Norwich and the League Two match between Tranmere and Stockport had been postponed, with a decision on Saturday’s fixtures yet to be made. The Scottish Professional Football League announced that Friday evening’s Championship clash between Dundee and Cove Rangers was off.
Richard Masters, chief executive of the English Premier League, has told clubs that government guidance on cancellations is unlikely to be "definitive" and that they will have to make their own decisions.
After holding a meeting at 11am this morning, the Premier League took the decision to call off all football matches this weekend as a mark of respect.
This included big fixtures - such as Man City vs Tottenham, Arsenal vs Everton and Crystal Palace vs Man United - which were all due to take place over the weekend.
The Football Association announced on Twitter that: "English football has united to postpone all football fixtures this weekend."
"Her Majesty the Queen was a long-standing Patron of the Football Association and has left a lasting and indelible legacy on our national game," the organisation added.
The English Football League has postponed all matches scheduled for Friday and Saturday, adding: "This is aligned with the approach that the Premier League and the FA will take with their competitions this weekend."
Arts and culture
Following the news of the Queen's death, the Royal Albert Hall confirmed that the final two nights of the BBC Proms on Friday and Saturday would no longer go ahead.
Thursday evening's concert was also cancelled as a mark of respect to Britain's longest reigning monarch.
The London concert hall tweeted: "We were truly honoured that Queen Elizabeth II was our Patron. Everyone at the Hall will feel her absence keenly."
The Mercury Prize ceremony, also due to take place on Thursday evening, was postponed as nominees already started arriving at the venue for rehearsals.
Organisers said in a statement: "Our thoughts and condolences are with The Royal Family at this very difficult time.”
The Royal Opera House cancelled its opening night of Mozart's Don Giovanni on Thursday after learning of the Queen's death.
It said it would also remain closed on the day of the monarch's state funeral, which is expected to be held at London's Westminster Abbey on Monday September 19.
ITV and Indigo Television have taken the decision to reschedule this year's National Television Awards in light of the Queen's passing.
The ceremony will now take place on Thursday October 13, live from the OVO Arena Wembley.
Hackney Carnival in east London will no longer go ahead as planned on Sunday to observe the national period of mourning, the borough's council announced.
Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville said: “We’ll be looking at whether it is feasible to hold Carnival at a later date, this year, or if we can showcase the artists’ work in another way. “We know many people will feel extremely disappointed, and we are sorry for the sadness and upset this will cause. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the incredible people who were due to perform and take part in Carnival, as well as those involved in the organisation of the event."
Horseracing
Racing at Southwell and Chelmsford on Thursday evening was abandoned following the death of the Queen.
The British Horseracing Authority also announced the meetings scheduled for Friday – including the third day of the St Leger meeting at Doncaster – have also been cancelled.
An announcement will be made on Friday regarding plans for Saturday, where the Leger at Doncaster is the showpiece event as the final British Classic of the season.
Cricket
Friday’s play between England and South Africa men at The Oval, along with all scheduled matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, will not take place.
Rugby Union Northampton announced the postponement of their Premiership Rugby Cup clash against Saracens scheduled for Thursday evening. The Scottish Rugby Union has postponed all domestic competitive games this weekend as a mark of respect and the women’s summer Test international between Scotland and Spain on Sunday is also off. Rugby League The RFL postponed Friday’s Betfred Championship fixture between Sheffield Eagles and Dewsbury Rams, but the first Super League elimination play-off between Catalans Dragons and Leeds will go ahead as it is taking place in Perpignan, France.
Further announcements about the weekend’s fixtures at all levels were set to be made “as soon as possible”, the governing body said.
Golf Play was suspended for the day at the BMW PGA Championship and there will be no play on Friday.
Athletics The Great North Run, the world’s largest half-marathon, is set for Sunday. Organisers cancelled its 5k sister event on Friday, with a decision of the main race due on on Friday. Cycling Friday’s Tour of Britain stage has been cancelled with a decision on the rest of the tour to be made.
Formula 1 Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled with a minute’s silence planned before practice on Friday and another expected before the race.
Business
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) cancelled its annual dinner in Scotland yesterday following news the Queen had died.
In a statement, CBI director-general Tony Danker said: "The CBI and the UK business community join the nation in mourning the passing of Her Majesty The Queen.
“Throughout her unprecedented 70 years on the throne, HM Queen Elizabeth II served the nation with distinction as a stalwart example of British values of honour, dignity and resilience.
"She dedicated her life to the people of the UK and the Commonwealth, providing compassionate and inspirational leadership during the many challenging times of her long reign.
“Times are hard right now – made more so by the loss of our much-loved Queen – and our tribute should be to work tirelessly to build a better future for the people of this country in memory of Her Majesty.”
London Fashion Week will go ahead as planned next week, but the British Fashion Council has advised that "all non-core business events on the official schedule should be cancelled", such as parties and openings.
The council also told participants that any shows that fall on the day of the Queen's funeral will have to be rearranged.
On Thursday evening, British fashion house Burberry said it will no longer go ahead with its spring/summer 2023 show on Saturday, 17 September "as a mark of respect".
The remarkable life of the Queen remembered in our latest episode of What You Need To Know