UK to hold ‘thousands’ of wedding street parties

LONDON: Thousands of street parties will take place in Britain to celebrate the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton next month, representatives of local government said Saturday that fever grips parts royal wedding of the country.

In London, some 500 applications were made to councils to close roads so people can get out the bunting and set up their folding tables for the traditional meetings held in honor of major state occasions.

"Parts of the street are part of British culture, they are a great way for people to meet their neighbors and build community relations," said Chris White of the Local Government Association (LGA).

In total, some 4,000 applications have been made parties to date in England and Wales, the LGA said.

According to British newspaper the Mirror, one of the applications came from Prime Minister David Cameron for a party outside his official residence in Downing Street.

Moreover, those who live in Hertfordshire, north London, were particularly excited about the upcoming nuptials, making 135 applications for street parties, although there were 85 from Kent in southeast east of the capital.

However, it seems somewhat of a North-South divide, with fewer applications submitted to councils from the North.

Places like Blackpool, the seaside resort in northwest England and Gateshead in northern England, recorded only one application each. (Reuters)