Gold Award celebration events:
London

The DofE wants to make sure every Gold Award holder can attend and enjoy a celebration event if they want, with one guest of their choice.

If you or your guest has any accessibility requirements or additional support needs, please email [email protected]. This helps us make the necessary arrangements to support your attendance.

Attendees can bring a handbag or a small personal bag, which may be subject to a search on entry. You’ll be denied entry if you bring large bags or luggage. Personal bags should be no larger than a size that would fit under the seat of a plane.

There are no cloakrooms to leave coats or bags, so you need to keep anything you bring on you during the event.

All guests will be invited to visit the tea tent for a cup of tea and slice of cake. If you bring a small bag, please also bring a reusable water bottle as there will be water stations. You cannot bring a picnic, but you can bring a light snack if you feel you need it to make it through the event.

We cannot confirm receipt of individual responses as they arrive. We will send a confirmation email within two weeks of getting your reply. If you don’t get a confirmation email within two weeks, please email [email protected] as your response may not have reached us.

You can check the status of your invitation anytime on the “Gold Award celebration event” page of your eDofE account.

As a special celebration in Buckingham Palace Garden, the dress code is smart, like a suit, jacket and tie, dress or a smart alternative. Hats are optional, but not required. National dress is welcome.

As you’ll be standing on grass for the event, you should wear appropriate shoes. Trainers should not be worn unless required for accessibility reasons.

Uniformed organisations are encouraged to wear their uniforms. For official military uniforms, the Royal Navy should wear No 1C Undress, the Army should wear No 2 Dress and the Royal Air Force should wear No 1HD Dress. Gloves, leather and medals should not be worn.

There are no changing facilities available at the Palace. If you want to change into a uniform you should make your own arrangements.

Gold Award celebration events in London offer a variety of activities within Buckingham Palace Garden that Gold Award holders and their guests can enjoy while celebrating their outstanding achievement.

Your celebration will centre around speeches delivered from the West Terrace. These reflect on everything you’ve achieved and offer encouragement as you embark on your next chapter.

There are also satellite stages throughout the garden where you can hear from inspirational public figures about their personal journeys. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions. The stages run throughout the event, but pause during the West Terrace speeches. You’ll find out who is speaking a few days before the event.

In the garden there will also be:

• Military bands playing music
• Garden games
• Several photo opportunities and props for you to take photos
• A display of archive materials to showcase our history and mark our 70th anniversary.

During the event, you can visit the tea tent for a cupcake and a cup of tea.

When you arrive, you’ll get a souvenir programme with more information about the activities taking place. It also has a map and a description of key areas to visit in the garden if you want to explore.

Gold Award holders will get their certificate in the post before the event. It won’t be presented on the day. You don’t need to bring your certificate to the event.

The address is Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA.

The nearest tube stations are:

• Green Park – Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines
• Victoria – Victoria, Circle and District lines
• Hyde Park Corner – Piccadilly line
• St James’s Park – Circle and District lines.

These buses run close to Buckingham Palace:

• 11
• 36
• 211
• C1
• C10.

Visit tfl.gov.uk to plan your route.

Buckingham Palace is in central London, so please allow enough time to cope with London traffic. It’s in the central London Congestion Charge Zone, information about the charge and payment is available at cclondon.com. It’s also in the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, so please check if your vehicle is eligible for this charge before you travel.

Apart from limited disabled parking which has been pre-arranged, there is no parking at Buckingham Palace.

Gold Award holders can bring one personal guest to their celebration event. The guest must be over the age of 18.

Please check that we have the correct details for your guest and update eDofE as needed.

Guests cannot be changed within four weeks of your event. We cannot accommodate requests for extra guests.

Gold Award holders are not arranged in groups as part of the official event programme. If you want to meet anyone from your organisation during the event you should agree this with them in advance.

There will be clearly marked meeting points within the garden. Although all guests from the same Licensed Organisation will get the same entrance time, if you want to meet up with other guests at the event, for security reasons we strongly encourage you to do this within the garden rather than outside the Palace.

We’ll post your official invitation and admittance card about two weeks before the event date. It will have your exact entrance time. We post official invitations for you and your guest to the address registered on the ‘Gold Award celebration event’ page of your eDofE account, so please make sure it’s up to date.

For security restrictions, the first and last name that we have on file must exactly match the photographic ID that you bring to the event. Do not use shortened names. Middle names are not needed.

You’ll get a formal white invitation and a coloured admittance card. If any of the details are incorrect on your admittance card or don’t match your ID, please email [email protected].

For security reasons, you may be asked to return the incorrect admittance card to be reissued. Admittance cards are not transferable under any circumstances.

A limited number of disabled parking spaces are available close to Buckingham Palace for Blue Badge holders. If you or your guest is a Blue Badge holder and want to ask for a disabled parking space, please email [email protected] attaching a copy or photograph of both sides of your Blue Badge. Disabled parking spaces will be given at the discretion of the Events Manager.

On the day of your event, due to road closures, guests with an allocated disabled parking space might need to arrive by a specific route. Further information and instructions will be provided with your formal invitation. We will post it to the address you gave when you accepted your invitation about two weeks before your event.

Attendees are welcome to take their own photographs in Buckingham Palace Garden using small cameras or phones. Please do not bring large cameras or tablet computers.

There are limited places at Gold Award celebration events and we’ll process responses in the order that we get them.

If spaces are still available, young people can accept their place at a Gold Award celebration up to four weeks before the event is scheduled to take place. Guests cannot be updated within four weeks of the event.

Seating will be available throughout the garden for those who need it, but this is primarily a standing event. While we cannot reserve individual seats in advance, please let a member of staff know if you need to sit down and there is no chair available.

Security arrangements at Gold Award celebration events are strict, but shouldn’t interfere with your enjoyment of the event.

To enter the event, all attendees must bring:

• Their coloured admittance card
• Two forms of identification. One must be photographic and the other must confirm your address.

For security restrictions, the first and last name that we have on file must exactly match the photographic ID that you bring to the event. Do not use shortened names. The address provided should also exactly match the ID that you bring on the day.

When you arrive, you must present two forms of ID, one of which must be photographic.

You must present one form of ID from both Box A and Box B. If you are not using your photo driving licence (or provisional driving licence) as your photographic ID, you can use it as your proof of address. Other forms of valid ID from Box B include official correspondence from the government, such as a council tax letter or polling card.

If you don’t have an approved form of photographic ID, please make arrangements to get this before the event. If you’re going to be unable to meet the ID requirements, please email [email protected] as soon as possible. No responsibility can be accepted by the DofE should you not meet the ID requirements and be denied entry.

You should check the weather forecast before attending and bring appropriate attire, including an umbrella and raincoat, or sun cream and hat. Please note that there is limited cover in the garden and the event will go ahead in wet weather.

If you have a question not answered here or on the Gold Award celebration event page, you can contact the Events Team.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 01753 727431
Monday – Friday, 10am – 4pm. Please do not call outside of these hours.