24 July 2002: A three-day visit to the North West begins with engagements in Cheshire and Manchester The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh attended a service of thanksgiving for the restoration of Manchester City Centre during a visit to the city on Wednesday, 24 July 2002. The marked the redevelopment of Manchester city centre following the terrorist bomb blast which took place in June, 1996. More than 1,000 people gathered at Manchester Cathedral to give thanks for the city's remarkable recovery. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh joined leaders of the city council and neighbouring authorities, personnel from the task force that led the £500m rebuilding programme and members of the public at the service. At the service, the Most Rev David Hope, Archbishop of York, paid tribute to "a great northern city" which had successfully translated its imaginative planning strategy into impressive achievement, and to the "community of people who had made the day possible. And he emphasised the "very happy coincidence" which had aligned the Commonwealth Games with The Queen's Golden Jubilee. During the service The Queen was presented with a copy of the original master plan for the rebuilding of the city centre after the bombing. Her Majesty handed the plan to the Very Reverend Ken Riley, Dean of Manchester Cathedral, for safe keeping in the cathedral archives. The Queen was also presented with a lighted candle, which she passed to a child, symbolising the handing on of commitment to service from one generation to another. Later, The Queen opened the new £2.9m cathedral visitor centre. The day began in Macclesfield, Cheshire, where The Queen and Prince Philip visited The King's School, which was celebrating its 500th anniversary. The Queen visited classrooms themed around the years 1502, 1952 and 2002 and listened to performances by the school choir and orchestra. Her Majesty then unveiled a stone to commemorate the visit. Outside the school The Queen and Prince Philip viewed displays of life in Cheshire, including exhibitions of rural, business and educational activities in the county. A gift of Macclesfield silk depicting the county and its features was presented to The Queen before 300 balloons, representing each of the communities of Cheshire, were released. The Queen then travelled on to Christie Hospital, Manchester, a specialist hospital concerned with the treatment of cancer and associated diseases. The Christie Hospital NHS Trust is the largest single-site cancer treatment centre of its kind in Europe, and an international leader in cancer research and development. Although the hospital is based in Manchester, patients travel to it from all over the North West and beyond. Inside the hospital, The Queen visited the outpatients department, new chemotherapy suite and new rehabilitation unit, and saw and state-of-the-art equipment in the radiotherapy department. There was also opportunity to meet patients, staff, volunteers and fundraisers. It was The Queen's first visit to the Christie Hospital, following in the footsteps of her mother, the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who visited in 1935. The Queen continued to the Museum of Jewish Life, in the Cheetham Hill district of Manchester. Inside the small museum, The Queen met Jewish leaders from the North West and saw an exhibition on the art of Hebrew script, which included a demonstration by a Hebrew scribe. Before leaving The Queen unveiled a plaque and signed the visitors' book to commemorate the visit. While The Queen carried out her afternoon engagements, The Duke of Edinburgh travelled to the new Imperial War Museum North on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Trafford, Manchester. The museum, housed in a landmark building designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, explores the history of war and conflict in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. After touring the galleries and viewing exhibits, The Duke of Edinburgh formally opened the museum. His Royal Highness then travelled to Exchange Square, Manchester city centre, to join The Queen for a walkabout and the service of thanksgiving in the cathedral. Back to July index