Everything you need to know about Jersey's Battle of Flowers
Jersey's Battle of Flowers returns this week after two years of cancellations.
The two-day event will see floral exhibits up to 45 feet long travel along Victoria Avenue accompanied by musicians, dancers, and marching bands.
Here is ITV Channel's guide to everything you need to know about the event.
When is the Battle of Flowers on?
The 2022 Battle of Flowers all kicks off on Thursday (11 August) with the Daytime Parade, starting at 2:30pm at the Victoria Avenue arena.
The Moonlight Parade will be on the following day (Friday 12 August) starting at 9pm.
Which floats are taking part this year?
2022 marks the event's 120th anniversary. 22 floats will be taking part with themes including Alice in Wonderland , Mary Poppins, pirates and princesses. There will also be a mix of entertainment and musical performances.
How long has the Battle of Flowers been going?
Jersey's first Battle of Flowers took place in 1902, in the familiar location along Victoria Avenue.
After the First World War, the event moved to the Springfield showground (on the site of the modern-day stadium), before returning to Victoria Avenue in the 1950s.
The Battle of Flowers took place every summer until the Covid-19 pandemic caused the 2020 and 2021 events to be cancelled.
What is the difference between the daytime and moonlight parades?
Thursday's Day Parade is the key competition where the floats compete to win the top prizes. The Prix d'Honneur is the main award that teams will be aiming to win. The other coveted titles are the Prix d’Excellence and Grand Prix des Fleurs.
Other prizes up for grabs include the Spectators' Award, which will be presented to both the junior and senior floats that people have chosen as their favourite.
The event will finish at around 4:30pm following the performance of the Pyrotechnical aerial display team, Aerosparx and announcement of the major prize winners.
After this, the floats will return to Millbrook Playing Fields and will be available for the public to view throughout Friday (12 August).
By night, the Moonlight Parade will see all the same daytime floats but covered in thousands of colourful lights. The carnival-style parade starts after dark with musical entertainment kicking it off.
Besides the parades, what other activities are on?
There will be live music performances in Lower Park following Thursday’s event and before the Moonlight Parade on Friday. ‘Little Gig in Lower Park’ will see stage performances from several local musicians, including Scott Livingstone, Hamish Brodie and Hot Bananas.
As well as the parades, the Funtazia Travelling Funfair has returned to the island for this year's event.
Who are the previous Battle of Flowers winners?
The last time the Battle of Flowers took place was back in 2019, when The Optimists Club took home the coveted Prix d'Honneur for their 'Oliver'-themed float. It saw a turning platform and chimney sweeps dancing up and down chimneys as the float travelled down Victoria Avenue.
Thousands packed into the seafront arena to see floats themed from 'The Spirit of America' take the Grand Prix des Fleurs and 'Save the Bees' which won the Prix d'Honneur de Papier.
The Parish of St Peter took home the Prix d'Excellence for their 'Music Evolution' float, while St Clement won the Grand Prix des Paroisses with 'Winter Wonderland: A Polar Paradise.'
The Parish of Trinity Juniors won the Wildflower category with their '60 Years of Durrell' float.
Which roads are closing for the Battle of Flowers and when?
Many Jersey roads shut to traffic during the Battle of Flowers, including:
Victoria Avenue (between the Esplanade and Bel Royal)
Farley’s Lane
The first First Tower spur road linking Victoria Avenue with St Aubin’s Inner Road
La Rue du Galet
Lower Park
Paris Lane
Tyneville Lane
They will all close from 9:30am-7pm on Thursday 11 August, and 6:15pm-midnight on Friday 12 August.
More information on traffic restrictions can be found on the event's website.
When will car parking along Victoria Avenue be suspended?
Several lay-bys along Victoria Avenue closed to motorists over the weekend to make way for the Battle of Flowers' audience stands.
Lay-by three closed on Friday night (5 August) while lay-bys one and two shut on Sunday evening (7 August).
The remaining car parks at lay-bys four, five, six and seven will remain open until Wednesday evening (10 August.)
They say 'it never rains on Battle Day' - is that true?
Contrary to popular belief, it has frequently rained on Battle Day! Fortunately, this time around, the forecast is for glorious sunshine all week.