Battle of Flowers

The Battle began as a flower parade, but along the route the flowers were torn off and thrown to the spectators. They threw them back, and the Battle was born.

The venue for the 1902 event was the same as this year's, and it was fitting that Victoria Avenue should have been used for such a Royal occasion, it was named after the late Queen.

So successful was the first battle that it became a annual event, and was held on Victoria Avenue every year - with the exception of the First World War - until 1928.  Then, until war again intervened in August 1939, the battle was held in the enclosed Springfield Stadium just outside St Helier.

Image Source: http://www.jeron.je/thatwasjersey/bflowers.html

After the war

The problem of the post-war years meant that it was quite some time after the German occupation before a group of Jersey businessmen formed an association to organise a tourist attraction and in 1951 the first new-look Battle of Flowers took place back on the original site, Victoria Avenue.

There was no Miss Battle of Flowers in those days, but Miss Petula Clark became the first visiting celebrity to take part in the parade.

The 1952 battle was also particularly special because not only did it help celebrate the accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11, but it was also the 50th anniversary of the event, it was watched by more than 40,000 spectators and included more than 100 entries.

The following year, the first Miss Battle of Flowers was chosen to grace the 1953 parade, and in 1954 the first male star - Anthony Steel - accompanied the carnival queen.

Miss Anna Neagle was the star in 1956, but from then on it has always been a male star of stage, screen or sport who has been the escort for Miss Battle on her big day.

In the early days the floats were mainly small and the prize money only a maximum of £15.00, but now the prizes are more financially rewarding and the floral exhibits which make the battle so much more spectacular, although fewer, are much bigger and more elaborate.

The music for the parade has been provided over the years by numerous very fine local and visiting bands, including the Band of the United States Air Force, the Dutch Rijnmondband Schiedam, the Tivoli Boys Band from Denmark and many British military bands.

The majorettes troupes which add so much to the colour and movement of the parade have become increasingly popular and the floats themselves are now much animated.

San Remo, the Italian town with its own Floral Carnival, entered the Battle of Flowers in 1958 and afterwards donated a trophy which is presented every year for the best animated float.

With such a spectacular parade, it is very difficult for the Battle of Flowers association to find a sufficiently exciting finale.  For five years in the 1960's this was adequately provided by helicopters spraying "petals from heaven" over the arena and every year organisers come up with some new climax to Jersey's biggest event of the year.

The Battle in the 60's and 70's

The Battle continued to grow in popularity during the 1960's, when it was attracting audiences of about 60,000. In 1964 it was decided that the Battle (in its literal sense) should be stopped, as it was getting too unruly.

A new finale was introduced - Petals from Heaven - when paper petals were dropped from aeroplanes. This wasn't always successful though because of wind conditions!

The Battle today

Nowadays the Battle of Flowers remains a popular event, attracting thousands of people each year. It takes place on the 2nd Thursday of August, with a moonlight parade the following evening.

The Battle celebrated its centenary in 2002, with many floats taking the 100 year birthday as the theme for their design.

In 2007, Kyran Bracken took the mantle of Mr Battle, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Saville and John 'Bergerac' Nettles.

For further information please access the Battle Of Flowers website www.battleofflowers.com