Bristol marks 80 years of the Atlantic Charter - as the UK and US reaffirm common values at the G7
Bristol’s celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Atlantic Charter next month have taken on a new significance following the weekend’s G7 summit in Cornwall.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden agreed a new Atlantic Charter – focusing on climate change, security, the global trading system and defending democracy – during the gathering of the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations at Carbis Bay.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the original Charter, at a meeting in 1941 between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard HMS PRINCE OF WALES, off the coast of Newfoundland.
The Charter was the shared vision of the two leaders for a post-World War Two world. It committed to a world “free of want and fear” where “global economic co-operation and advancement of social welfare” would build a foundation for peace and security.
Next month Bristol will be the only city in the UK where the most senior cadre from the Royal Navy and US Embassy are taking part in celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the original Atlantic Charter.
The event over the weekend of 16th-18th July will see Royal Navy ships visit the historic harbour, the Band of the Royal Marines performing and a celebration dinner attended by US officials and the First Sea Lord.
Bristol is hosting the event through its affiliation with HMS PRINCE OF WALES, Britain’s new fifth generation aircraft carrier, and the namesake of the World War Two battleship on which the Charter was originally declared.
HMS BLYTH, a minehunter, will visit Bristol’s Historic Harbour for the weekend along with a P2000 Navy vessel, with school parties and members of the public able to go on board.
There will also be recitals of peace poems – from the city’s Poet Laureate, among others - in Brunel Square, and a ceremony in which HMS PRINCE OF WALES’s White Ensign is marched to Bristol Cathedral and “laid up” with full military honours.
The weekend’s celebrations will finish with a reception on board ss Great Britain, where the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States, Yael Lempert, will be the keynote speaker.
Peaches Golding OBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Bristol, who represents the Queen in the city, said: “Bristol is a maritime city, which has always had strong links with the USA from the time of Cabot, through Brunel and the ss Great Britain.
“This weekend in July is usually when Bristol people gather for the Bristol Harbour Festival, which sadly will not happen this year. However, the Atlantic Charter Celebration is a great opportunity for the people of Bristol to celebrate the events which shaped our world today, with NATO among the consequences of that historic meeting.
“As the Prime Minister has said, while we may be living in a very different world in 2021 from that of 1941, the UK and the US will be at the forefront of efforts to build a better future at a time when the world is facing tremendous challenges. This is why the new Atlantic Charter is every bit as relevant as the original one.”
Further information can be found at: www.bristolaffiliation-hmspwls.com
