JCB machines from the past and the present will be taking part in special pageant to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next month.

The company confirmed today that it has signed an agreement to become a Platinum Jubilee Pageant Partner – and milestone machines spanning The Queen’s 70-year reign will be taking part in the event.

The Pageant - to be held in London on Sunday June 5th - will be the culmination of celebrations to mark The Queen’s 70 years on the throne. It will involve more than 10,000 people and tell the story of the monarch’s seven-decade reign through music, dance, and fashion - and heavyweight construction machinery, apparently.

Taking a bow will be JCB backhoe loaders from landmark years of The Queen’s reign. Leading the way will be the Mark 1 JCB backhoe from 1953, the year of Her Majesty’s Coronation. Next in line will be JCB 3CX backhoes manufactured in The Queen’s jubilee years of 1977, 2002 and 2012. Last up will be a 2022 JCB backhoe loader powered by hydrogen - here pictured, with JCB engineering graduate James Ownsworth and engineering degree apprentice Jed Brandreth.

“I am delighted that JCB is supporting the Platinum Jubilee Pageant as a Partner. It will be a very unique occasion and a wonderful way of saying thank you to The Queen for 70 years of service to our country and the Commonwealth," said JCB Chairman, Lord Bamford.

"We are very proud to be taking part in the Pageant and proud of the role JCB machines have played over the course of the last 70 years in helping shape the world we live in today. We are also thrilled about a future where our machines will be powered by hydrogen and delighted to be able to highlight this technology.”

The Jubilee pageant event will culminate in front of Buckingham Palace and be watched by up to one billion people globally. It will also be a rare outing for JCB’s  hydrogen-powered machines, which are currently being developed by the Staffordshire-based company, as it explores the potential of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels.

www.jcb.com/en-gb