Her Majesty The Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth for 64 years, attended the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, the largest multi-faith service in the UK. Her Majesty was joined by The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of York, and Prince Henry of Wales. The Commonwealth Service was the first major ceremonial event for Her Majesty in her 90th birthday year.
Guests of honour included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Malta and new Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth, Dr Joseph Muscat, diplomats, High Commissioners, and faith leaders. Highlights of the Service included a principal reflection from former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a performance from singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. The Service was also attended by almost 1,000 school children from across the UK and several faith leaders.
The theme of this year’s Commonwealth service was 'An Inclusive Commonwealth.'
Kofi Annan said that, as a Ghanaian he felt very much part of the Commonwealth family: “It has never been more important for the Commonwealth to stress the bonds of human compassion and solidarity that unite us across the divides of race and religion, gender and geography.”
Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, representing the Sikh community at the Service said: “As a Sikh, brought up in the belief that, despite superficial differences of religion and culture, we are all members of the same human family, it is heartening to see this ethos becoming central to the working of the Commonwealth.”
Athletes across the Commonwealth also celebrated Commonwealth Day. The Commonwealth sporting movement marked the start of Commonwealth week by revealing the biggest-ever para-athlete participation in the next Commonwealth Games, which takes place in Gold Coast in 2018. The CGF and Gold Coast 2018 organisers have unveiled the largest-ever para-sport programme in Commonwealth Games history, featuring up to 300 athletes across 38 events in 7 sports.
To mark the historic announcement, Youth Games medallists and Glasgow 2014 para-athletes attended the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society. Later, they met Her Majesty the Queen at a special reception at Marlborough House, home of the Commonwealth Secretariat. In attendance were Samoa 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games medallists Rebekah O’Loughlin, Georgina Boyle, Biatrice Cabbell and Glasgow 2014 para-athletes Samantha Kinghorn and Paul Brown.
His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of the Commonwealth said: “The Commonwealth Games have long been known as the 'friendly games' and now they earn the well-deserved title of the 'inclusive games'. I commend the continuing commitment and positive efforts of the Commonwealth Games Federation to ensure the spirit of 'An Inclusive Commonwealth' is carried forward in practical ways. Greater opportunity for participation by all advances the transformative potential of sport to empower and embrace all Commonwealth citizens as a global good.”
