Melton Mayor to fly the flag for the commonwwealth

The Mayor of Melton will host a special flag-flying ceremony on Monday to celebrate the UK's relationship with the commonwealth.
Councillor Tejpal Bains, Mayor of Melton EMN-180903-113759001Councillor Tejpal Bains, Mayor of Melton EMN-180903-113759001
Councillor Tejpal Bains, Mayor of Melton EMN-180903-113759001

Councillor Tejpal Bains and other dignitaries will gather outside the borough council offices in Burton Street to take part in the event.

More than 950 commonwealth flags, including the one at Melton, will be raised in locations throughout the nation, and also in the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, UK overseas territories and commonwealth countries.

Starting at 9.50am, Councillor Tejpal Bains will host a short ceremony to mark the fourth international Commonwealth Day.

A specially written Commonwealth Affirmation will be read out and the Deputy Lieutenant, Brig W J Hurrell CBE DL, will read a personal message from the Right Honourable Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, before the raising of the commonwealth flag at 10.00am.

The Mayor said: “I am delighted that Melton borough is again participating in this shared celebration of this family of nations and territories which represent a third of the world’s population.

“The 2018 theme of ‘Towards a Common Future’ is about how the commonwealth can address global challenges.

“This is particularly important given that half of the commonwealth citizens are under 25-years-old and this is about their future.”

The ceremony will be attended by representatives of local service and community organisations and members of the public are invited to attend.

This year, Commonwealth Day precedes the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London when the leaders of 52 independent member countries will meet to address key global challenges and agree how to work together for the welfare and common good of its 2.4 billion citizens.

After the raising of the flag, the Mayor will invite guests into the civic chamber to take part in a short commemorative act to remember over 1.1 million commonwealth servicemen and women who lost their lives in the First World War.

This will involve the lighting of four candles, one to represent each year of the war. The candles will then be extinguished to represent the darkness that fell over Europe at the start of the war and then relit so that in this centenary year of the end of the Great War, a candle for each year it will remain alight to symbolically represent how ultimately light won through the darkness.